Why in the News?
Finnish researchers showed that nonlinear optical fibres can perform AI tasks efficiently, advancing optical computing.
About Optical Computing:
- Overview: A computer that uses light (photons) instead of electricity (electrons) to process data.
- Why Important: Light is faster, makes less heat, and carries more data at once.
- Technology Used: Runs through optical fibres, the same cables that carry internet data.
- Main Challenge: Hard to control how light behaves, especially when it gets very strong and non-linear (changes colour, merges, or spreads).
Recent Breakthrough:
- Research:
- Turned images into light pulses.
- Sent them through optical fibre where the light changed.
- These changes acted like a hidden computing layer.
- The system read the light at the other end to classify the images.
- Results: Reached 91–93% accuracy, close to normal AI computers.
How can it help AI working?
- Energy-efficient AI hardware: Can make faster and greener AI systems in the future.
- Tech needs: New tools like photonic chips and optical neural networks before large-scale use.
| [UPSC 2022] Which one of the following is the context in which the term “qubit” is mentioned?
(a) Cloud Services (b) Quantum Computing* (c) Visible Light Communication Technologies (d) Wireless Communication Technologies |
