Micro-meta-structures for computational sensors with built-in memory

Descripción del proyecto

Las innovadoras metaestructuras multiestables allanan el camino a los sensores computacionales autónomos

La expansión acelerada del internet de la cosas y la necesidad de una mayor potencia de cálculo en el borde para una mayor velocidad de procesamiento e integridad de los datos requieren sistemas microelectromecánicos (MEMS) «más inteligentes» con cálculo en el borde y programación en memoria. Esos MEMS deben asimilar la información sensorial para mejorar la autonomía y la eficacia. El equipo del proyecto MMS, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pretende desarrollar un nuevo tipo de estructura inteligente —las «metaestructuras»— para sensores autónomos con memoria incorporada y capacidad de cálculo para este fin. Los MEMS se basarán en un descubrimiento reciente que demuestra que pueden tener tres equilibrios estables, a diferencia de las estructuras monoestables o biestables convencionales, lo cual abre el camino a una nueva clase de MEMS con capacidades radicalmente nuevas.

Objetivo

Sensory input in integrated systems is expected to increase with the entrance of AI and Internet-of-Things, requiring systems to become efficient and autonomous. The proposed research aims to introduce and study a new type of smart structure, dubbed meta-structures (MS), composed of repeating a unit cell to create a structure with new abilities such as multistability, non-volatility, and configurability. Such structures can be used to design autonomous sensors with built-in memory and computational abilities, allowing the formation of a new class of smart micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) with edge computation and in-memory programming (IMP). In the aggregate, such smart sensors can lessen the dependency on a CPU and increase the autonomy of an overall system, while enabling distributed and parallel computations. Current MEMS-based structures are mono- or bistable, and as such are limited to registering one or two values in a sensor/mechanical memory/logical gate. However, recent studies have shown that an MS can break free from a two-bit structure. Indeed, in a recent breakthrough, we have shown that in the presence of electrostatic actuation, a micro-MS becomes multi-valued, with three stable equilibria, thus opening a gateway to a paradigm shift that goes beyond the study of new structures, to the formation of new class of MEMS. This new class of MEMS will be able to incorporate mechanical-based computation with IMP capabilities. Such an unconventional approach has the potential to augment traditional capabilities, introducing new abilities such as reduced leakage and power consumption, reconfigurability, decreased footprint, as well as compatibility with harsh environments (i.e. high temperatures or electromagnetic radiation), as well as reversible computing.