Every single day we are seeing innovative efforts open up new and unexplored realms of technology that redefine our perspective of the future and its untapped potential. Drones, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, machine learning – the possibilities are truly endless.
As momentum within these different areas is beginning to really build for Intel, they have made the decision to change the way in which they approach the design of their chips. Their active involvement in AI, autonomous vehicles, and drone technology has had a large hand in their re-evaluation of the chip landscape, enabling them to realise the greater potential and value that can be gained from an alternative chip design.
So what can we expect?
Where once its key technologies were all integrated into a single piece of silicon in what has been referred to as a monolithic design, Intel is now adopting a more heterogeneous approach to development. This will allow them to instead mix and match different cores into a single chip, regardless of node or architecture, meaning chip development will no longer be restrained by the hold-ups of previous manufacturing processes. The step-change has been brought about as a result of the dramatic slowing witnessed with Moore’s Law in recent years and will take system-on-chip thinking to a whole new level.
Using what has been dubbed the Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB), multiple chips can then be embedded onto a single die, enabling both higher bandwidth and scope to develop chips for a wider range of devices.
The Benefits
The new heterogeneous design and the use of the EMIB will mean a load of new and exciting benefits from future Intel chips:
- Production of better products and cost structures for customers
- Faster throughput and the option for multiple throughput technologies
- Higher bandwidth than PCIe
- Improved communication between cores
- Greater flexibility leading to higher performance and less power
- EMIB allows use of cores made of different materials, which could replace silicon
Led by this new heterogeneous design, Intel is now looking to the future to ensure that any chips produced from hereon in are able to suit the host of devices that exist today, and will exist tomorrow.
We will, of course, be considering the implications of Intel’s chip design changes within our product range as these come into effect. If you would like to find out more about the new heterogeneous design or else how this may impact our products, please speak to one of the team.
