Collaborating with Micron Technologies, Inc., the University recently established the world’s first Center for Automata Computing.
Automata computing differs significantly from traditional computing and can solve problems in a faster, more efficient way through the use of simple computational machines called automata. Computer Science Prof. Kevin Skadron, the founder and director of the center, said the method of computing with automata is more powerful than traditional computing processes.
“An automaton, in computer terminology, is a simple machine that responds to stimuli,” Skadron said in an email. “In this case, an automaton activates itself and certain outputs based on whether the input matches certain conditions. It does not have the conventional computing paradigm of a sequence of operations.”
Vice President for Research Thomas Skalak said automata computing will significantly increase the speed of current technologies at the University.
“Say you have a string of information like an internet security code, you can compare one element of the string to other elements really fast [with automata],” Skalak said. “So you’re able to speed up how you might analyze an image or a string of information by up to 100 times.”
Micron, a multinational corporation known for the creation of semiconductor devices, will produce the automata computer chips used for data and image processing at the center. The partnership will provide cutting edge technology that will bring together some of the best minds in the field, Skalak said.
“They will be giving us many of these computer chips and then the student and faculty will have access to this technology,” Skalak said. “It will also bring very close partnerships between the experts in the company and the experts in our U.Va. computer science department who will then be doing early applications.”
The center’s goals for its first few years include bringing in new researchers, creating a diverse set of relevant research seminars and securing additional funding.
“We will start by trying to bring together researchers across Grounds, then as quickly as possible, reach out to other Virginia universities and companies, and later we will seek to expand nationwide,”Skadron said. “It will make Virginia a nexus for research on automata computing.”
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