Increasing processor efficiency by 'shutting off the lights'

To promote energy-efficient multitasking, Harvard graduate student Wonyoung Kim has developed and demonstrated a new device with the potential to reduce the power usage of modern processing chips.

Image courtesy of Wonyoung Kim

The multicore voltage regulator responds almost instantaneously to changes in power demand from each core of the processor. As a result, the power supply matches the demand more closely, conserving energy.

There was a time when a laptop could weigh 10 pounds and still sell, a time when a cell phone was larger than a pocket, and a time when an iPod played only music.
Today’s consumers expect mobile devices that are both smaller and more powerful. All the bells and whistles, however, suck up energy — and a phone that lasts only four hours because it’s also a GPS device is only so useful.
To promote energy-efficient multitasking, Harvard graduate student Wonyoung Kim has developed and demonstrated a new device with the potential to reduce the power usage of modern processing chips.
The advance could allow the creation of “smarter” smartphones, slimmer laptops, and more energy-friendly data centers.
Kim’s on-chip, multicore voltage regulator (MCVR) addresses what amounts to a mismatch between power supply and demand.
“If you’re listening to music on your MP3 player, you don’t need to send power to the image and graphics processors at the same time,” Kim says. “If you’re just looking at photos, you don’t need to power the audio processor or the HD video processor.
“It’s like shutting off the lights when you leave the room.”

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