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V. Rishi Kumar

Thousands of specks collaborate as programmable computational network where the data is processed and information extracted and distributed through wireless applications.

Hyderabad , Dec. 11

WELCOME to the world of speckle (d) computing. When this really hits the world, and this is likely in the next three to four years, as researchers believe, it could change the way in which one communicate bringing in an era of pervasive computing.

While some would like to call it as yet another bout of disruptive technology, others say, so be it, as long as it provides pervasive computing.

Pervasive computing is used loosely and this is not as pervasive computing ought to be. It is still jerky and a long way to go.

What microprocessors achieved in the world, these speckles could do to all of us as they get used in multiple applications, said Dr D.K. Arvind, Director of Institute of Computing Systems Architecture, School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh.

So what is a speckle?

A speckle is a tiny semiconductor about the size of a millimetre cube that can sense the environment, compute and network wirelessly to form programmable networks.

These speckles could be used interactively and provide a human computing interface, Dr Arvind told Business Line.

The objective of this speckle project is to realise programmable semiconductor specks, which can sense, compute and network wirelessly.

Each autonomous speck with captive and renewable power source (photovoltaic) has the capability to sense, process and provide for wireless networking — for which the generic technology term is pervasive or ubiquitous computing.

Thousands of specks collaborate as programmable computational network called the Specknet where the sensory data is processed collaboratively and information extracted and distributed through wireless applications.

A research consortium headed by Dr Arvind of University of Edinbourgh and universities of Glasgow, St.Andrews, Strathclyde and others have come together to work on this path-breaking project.

The Scottish Government has funded this technology project with an initial outlay of £1.3 million.

And the consortium is in the process of garnering another £3 million from the British Government. This project has been short-listed for the Basic Technology Research Programme. Out of the 20 proposals of 137 put forward, 10 of them could be funded by this month.

"While several semiconductor majors have expressed intent in funding and partnering the project, we do not want them to own the technology know-how.

"As a research team that currently has about 26 people, we would like to partner companies to develop the project but the entire IP (intellectual property) thus created will wrest with the group,'' Dr Arvind explained.

What kind of applications these specks could possibly find?

It is unimaginable as to the number of applications these could find, ranging from healthcare, environmental sensing and tangible interfaces.

Speckled computing in health care could be the first major application.

If a person has specks on his body, this could help remotely monitor the patient's heartbeat in collaboration with clinicians at the hospital nearby.

This has tangible interfaces for digital media — where objects sprayed with specks or speckled are sensitised both as computational resources and as props for interactions with all the computational resources.

The Institute of Computational Systems Architecture, Edinburgh, is engaged with the architecture and engineering of future computing systems.

Its fundamental research aims to extend the understanding of the performance and scalability of existing computational systems, to improve the characteristics of current systems through innovation in algorithms and protocols, and to develop new engineering methods wherein future systems could be created.

Dr Arvind said this speckle project has begun work in October.

It currently involves about five major universities.

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