MIT engineers build LEGO-like AI chip - Electronic Products & Technology

Imagine a more sustainable future, where cellphones, smartwatches, and other wearable devices don't have to be shelved or discarded for a newer model. Instead, they could be upgraded with the latest sensors and processors that would snap onto a device's internal chip -- like LEGO bricks incorporated into an existing build. Such reconfigurable chipware could keep devices up to date while reducing our electronic waste. Now engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge MA, have taken a step toward that modular vision with a LEGO-like design for a stackable, reconfigurable artificial intelligence chip. The design comprises alternating layers of sensing and processing elements, along with light-emitting diodes (LED) that allow for the chip's layers to communicate optically.