In a study published Aug. 19 in the journal Nature Sensors, scientists detailed the architecture of a new 2D chip dubbed "LightTok," which can convert raw light into tokens used by artificial intelligence (AI) models on the chip itself. The device skips several energy-intensive steps that conventional sensor systems depend on, the scientists said.
In conventional visual perception, light signals have to go through multiple stages. A sensor captures the signals, and an analog-to-digital converter turns the light into pixels. That data is then stored temporarily before it's shuttled to a separate chip, where the image is cut into square "compartments" — much like dividing a photo into a grid of tiles. Each compartment is then converted into a token for an AI model to read.
LightTok's solution to the energy problem is to collapse the five stages into one by building the sensing, memory and computation processes into the same pixel. The researchers achieved this through an array based on a technology called a single-layer molybdenum disulfide floating-gate phototransistor that can sense light, remember what it sensed, and then factor that into a calculation.
Liang Shi-Jun, physics professor at Nanjing University
Liang Shi-Jun, a physics professor at Nanjing University, summarized the chip to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua. "The chip physically eliminates data movement, which is the main source of energy waste," Liang said. "Light comes in, tokens come out" — hence the name "LightTok."
A more efficient physical world
At present, LightTok's maximum resolution is just 32 by 32 photosensitive pixels — the light-sensitive compartments on an image sensor that capture the visual data. This is far inferior to the quality of current smartphone cameras, let alone drones and autonomous hardware.
The researchers believe that if LightTok can eventually scale successfully, it could transform the operation of remote sensing technology. For example, a drone scanning a disaster zone or remote area could potentially fly longer because less energy is required for visual processing.
Related storiesKumar Sokka, CEO of Acre Security, a company that provides real-world sensing for critical infrastructure, described the work as a "small-scale demonstration." However, "the direction [of the research] matters to anyone working in the physical world," added Sokka, who was not involved in the new research.
The massive amount of energy typically required to turn raw data, such as light, into tokens "is wasteful when you're running perception on a robot or an edge device with a tight power budget," Sokka noted. However, processing at the point of detection may be "an enabler for pervasive physical AI, and a clever one, but it's not a cure for the whole problem," he added.
Can you match these ancient devices to their pictures? Find out with our computing quiz!
Hence then, the article about new lighttok chip converts light directly into tokens for ai slashing energy use in drones and other autonomous machines was published today ( ) and is available on Live Science ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( New LightTok chip converts light directly into 'tokens' for AI — slashing energy use in drones and other autonomous machines )
Also on site :