Chancellor’s Professor of Computer Science Nikil Dutt and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Fadi Kurdahi have received a $900,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will investigate the development of next-generation “information processing factory” chips that build on recent innovations in manufacturing in which network-connected tools, robots, sensors and computers act in concert to perform complex processes. The project is in tight collaboration with, and complemented by a parallel German Research Foundation-funded research project at the Technical University of Braunschweig and Technical University of Munich.

The advanced chips being designed will come equipped with on-chip sensors to monitor and control performance and health status – keeping track of temperature, energy consumption, wear and tear, and even security threats. Achieving this will require a holistic methodology that encompasses hardware design, software development and new approaches to network architecture. More details on this project can be found here.