ARM's Segars Unwraps '5th Gen' Computing Vision

The simultaneous maturation of three technologies--AI, the Internet of Things and 5G wireless--are ushering in a data-driven 5th wave of computing underpinned by current cloud infrastructure, according to the chief executive of chip intellectual property vendor ARM. Speaking at an annual Defense Department microelectronics summit, Simon Segars said new chip architectures are being designed around IoT sensors networks that will generate huge data volumes collected and transported by emerging 5G networks. Those massive data sets can then be used to train machine learning models to extract useful information via new AI algorithms. As DoD seeks to revive U.S. chip manufacturing, drive semiconductor innovation and secure its microelectronics supply chain, "You have to think about the underlying technologies, the science that drives the next evolution of all of these technologies," Segars told this week's Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) summit sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). "And that's an area where I think governments can play a big role in helping stimulate research--because this stuff is really hard."