'Quantum-inspired' laser computing is more effective than both supercomputing and quantum computing, startup claims
The desktop-sized LPU100 eschews traditional electronics and qubits in favor of lasers, and it can reportedly perform complex AI calculations in nanoseconds.
Engineers have developed an optical computer, about the size of a desktop PC, that can purportedly execute complex artificial intelligence (AI) calculations in nanoseconds, rivaling the performance of both quantum and classical supercomputers.
The computer, dubbed the LPU100, uses an array of 100 lasers to perform calculations through a process called laser interference, LightSolver representatives said in a March 19 statement.
In this process, an optimization problem that requires solving is encoded onto physical obstacles on the lasers' paths using a device called a programmable spatial light modulator. These obstacles prompt the lasers to adjust their behavior to minimize energy loss, similar to how water naturally finds the easiest route downhill by following the path of least resistance.
By quickly altering their state to minimize energy waste, the lasers achieve a state of minimal energy loss. This directly corresponds to the problem's solution.
