FET funds major computer performance project

A project that aspires to radically change the way computers are designed and manufactured has been funded by the European Commission’s Future and Emerging Technologies programme. The project aims to improve performance and reduce energy consumption.

Professor Nikolaos Bellas says energy consumption is currently the main limiting factor in building stronger computers. The research effort is based on the observation that many computational applications either have inherent tolerances in some errors, or some mistakes are acceptable or not perceived by the user.

It’s thought that this is one of the most ambitious programmes in the field of computers, since it will focus on redefining how digital systems will be designed and implemented in the next five to ten years. Bellas and Professor Christos Antonopoulos Spiros received funding from the European Commission.

The Research and Technology Institute of Thessaly is responsible for the project, which will last for three years. Also involved are universities from Switzerland, the UK, Germany, France and Belgium.