DEVELOP NEW, RESOURCE-SAVING COMPUTING CONCEPTS. LESS ENERGY, LESS TIME AND LESS SPACE.

In a digital world of the future, everyday life and the world of work around us will be continually supported by artificial intelligence. Data from countless sensors and actuators is read out by the smallest of computers, processed, merged as larger node points with greater computing power over a network of data links, interpreted and fed back. It changes, guides, supports and moves our lives. In between are giant computing centers which handle the mammoth tasks of managing and directing data, training artificial brains and solving complex scientific problems.

At present, though, this vision of a networked world has a high price. If the global energy demand for computing and communication increases at the same speed as before, it will already take up the global capacity for energy production in the year 2040. Energy consumption has been dropping for a while now, as chip structures have gotten smaller and smaller, but developments are now reaching their physical limits. To be able to implement our vision of the future—from autonomous driving to computer-aided drug development to intelligent control of countless renewable energy sources— fundamentally new computing concepts will have to be found.

THE CHALLENGE : Develop computing approaches which promise a significant reduction in resource consumption based on energy, time or space or which tackle problems which have not been solvable at all up to this point.

The goal of the Challenge is to develop fundamentally new computing concepts in theory and carry them over into practice step by step. The approaches have to achieve great leverage in the application. Either a specific problem with a high occurrence in the application has to be solved, such as the solution of partial differential equations, or a specific problem whose solution promises a significant gain in knowledge. A generalist approach can also be developed.

TEAMS WERE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THE CHALLENGE UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER, 2022. SELECTION OF THE TEAMS TOOK PLACE AT THE END OF OCTOBER (AFTER THE EDITORIAL DEADLINE).

IS THE CHALLENGE ABOUT THEORETICAL CONCEPTS OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HARDWARE?

Both. This competition is comprised of two parts. In part 1, the teams work on theoretical concepts for new approaches in data processing and derive hardware specifications which are required for implementation of the theoretical concepts. Part 2 begins after the end of part 1 of the Challenge. In part 2, the teams develop hardware implementations for new computing concepts.

WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT DO TEAMS GET FROM SPRIND?

SPRIND supports all the teams in reaching the Challenge goal. This includes financing of the teams’ work by SPRIND from the start of the Challenge. SPRIND also uses its network to promote the implementation of breaktrough innovations.

CAN I APPLY FOR THE CHALLENGE AT A LATER POINT IN TIME?

For parts 1 and 2 of the Challenge, you can only apply until the deadline for the respective tender. Teams can apply for part 2 of the Challenge even if they did not participate in part 1. If this framework does not offer you enough flexibility and you are working on solutions for new computing concepts with the potential of revolutionary innovations, please feel free to contact us or submit a project suggestion using the submission form of our open-topic program.

CAN INNOVATIONS CONTINUE TO BE SUPPORTED BY SPRIND AFTER THE CHALLENGE?

SPRIND is determined to implement disruptive innovations and to support innovators in developing innovations. If SPRIND identifies the potential for disruptive innovation in the teams during the Challenge, their work can also continue to be supported after completion of the Challenge.