Microsoft has partnered with Barclays to test the world’s first analogue optical computer, which uses photons and electrons to process continuous value data.
According to Microsoft, the technology could overcome the constraints of binary systems and provide near-lightspeed solutions to real-world issues. The eight-variable optical computer, named Analogue Iterative Machine (AIM), was created by the Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge. It uses various light intensities to compute at the same place where the information is stored.
With more information and variables, the partners are developing a more complex version of the issue. Later this summer, they intend to test it on an updated version of AIM and publish the results in a research report.
Read More: Microsoft and Barclays test analog optical computer
