Interesting, I would have to say though I can't really imagine how you begin programming an analog cpu. I'm assuming is is some type of neural network right (b/c of the metioning that transistor states are not pure on/off)? any help here? it sounds fascinating but I have never read anything on the topic or worked on an analog cpu.
Also how does analog use less energy (i.e. how can aynthing compute at a reasonable speed without some sort of power charge)? Obviously, my pc has a lot of power dissipation compared to any microcontroller on the market, which according to the article is the main reason they're going analog. In a standard case, I would have a multi-core (for less dissipation) and need to program multi-threaded. Are there any paradigms for analog? Or is this something completely new (at least since the 50's).
I don't have a picture of general anolog programming, but a concrete example is devising a strategy to hit some balls in a game of pool. Like in a neural net, this can take the form of turning a few knobs until you get the right result.
The reasons it can require less energy includes error tolerance, as mentioned in the article. The foundation of digital computer is error correction, so this trade-off could be the fundamental difference between the two.
Also how does analog use less energy (i.e. how can aynthing compute at a reasonable speed without some sort of power charge)? Obviously, my pc has a lot of power dissipation compared to any microcontroller on the market, which according to the article is the main reason they're going analog. In a standard case, I would have a multi-core (for less dissipation) and need to program multi-threaded. Are there any paradigms for analog? Or is this something completely new (at least since the 50's).