Forget the Raspberry Pi or the Intel Compute Stick. The real ultra-microcomputer is the Michigan Micro Mote (M^3), which measures 1 mm cubed.

Ok, it might not be a full-fledged desktop computer. But it can do tiny analytics such as pressure readings, temperatures, and imaging. It could also be implanted for medical diagnosis or used in oil wells to sense deeper reserves of hard-to-get oil. David Blaauw said in a UMich article that this is enough for the mini-machine to satisfy the definition of a computer: "the ability to process that data—meaning process and store it, make decisions about what to do next—and ultimately, the ability to output the data."

While it may not be ready to stream Netflix, the rice-sized device is a big step toward making smaller and smaller computers. It can communicate with other computers just a few feet away via radio, thus enabling a sort of super-microcomputer processing power. It's hard to imagine where the ultra-low-power computer couldn't go. We're especially excited to see what it could do in space if someone were to put it in a series of micro-probes, like the proposed asteroid-measuring nanoprobes.

Source: CNET

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