Articles by John
The return of the analog
Since the turn of the century, we most often use the word “analog” to refer to outdated technology, like radios from the pre-digital era, or dashboards with dials and needles. However, analog is coming back with a vengeance. Nowhere is this more striking than in the field of optical computing. […]
Read More
Tracking coughs on the Edge
If a doctor wants to know how well a cough treatment is working, it can be useful to know exactly how frequently the patient has been coughing. However, a patient’s state of mind might influence the impression they have about this: whether they are happy or sad, tired or not, […]
Read More
EcoCloud Townhall 2025
Many thanks to all who took part in the EcoCloud Townhall on the 10th June, 2026. It was a great event! Below are some photos of our speakers. Read the presentation Prof. Giovanni de Micheli, EcoCloud EcoCloud Director Doctoral Researcher Enea Figini Doctoral Researcher Ali Ansari, PARSA Dr. Xavier Ouvrard, […]
Read More
Optimizing interconnects with amazing results
One of our teams has rolled out Gem5-AcceSys: an innovative framework for a system-level exploration of standard interconnects and configurable memory hierarchies. A series of tests using this new technology will be presented at the Design Automation Conference in San Francisco. In this study it has been shown that optimized […]
Read More
Scale-out processors: How an EU-funded EcoCloud project pioneered cloud-native chips
Concerns about datacentre energy consumption are nothing new. Noting a wasteful mismatch between the desktop central processing units (CPUs) and datacentre requirements, researchers set out to deliver a chip that was fit for purpose. The result was commercialized and sparked a trend for Arm-based server chips for the cloud. To […]
Read More
Graphic novel explains the environmental impact of AI
We are very proud to have contributed to this excellent initiative for the promotion of science to children. Dr. Xavier Ouvrard was a member of the team who collaborated to produce this excellent publication in graphic novel format. EPFL’s Center for Learning Sciences (LEARN) is releasing Utop’IA, an educational graphic […]
Read More
SwissChips projects in more detail
We asked the EPFL participants of the SwissChips initiative about the aims of their projects. Find out how our scientists are setting out on a new adventure: boosting the chip manufacturing industry of Switzerland ! Read on…
Read More
Can energy-hungry AI help cut our energy use?
It takes ten times more electricity for ChatGPT to respond to a prompt than for Google to carry out a standard search. Still, researchers are struggling to get a grasp on the energy implications of generative artificial intelligence both now and going forward. Few people realize that the carbon footprint […]
Read More
Prof. De Micheli and the future of computing in Europe
Prof. Giovanni De Micheli has received two awards in the last two months: the IEEE Gustav Robert Kirchoff Award and the election to the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences. In the same time period he has given keynote speeches at HiPEAC and DATE. HiPEAC took the opportunity to interview Prof. […]
Read More