Emerging Solutions
Laura Stark
Moving the world’s
data from memory
through interfaces
Memory
& Interfaces
Reinventing
embedded security
from silicon to cloud
Cryptography
Research
Reimagining
computing from
sensor to cloud
Emerging
Solutions
What is ESD?
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1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Sum of Granted
Sum of Pending
Invention Happens Here…
Source: Rambus
Large worldwide portfolio with >2400 active patents and applications
In Technologies that …
Key Programs
Next-Gen Memory
Computational Sensing
New technologies and
architectures to improve
memory performance and
bring compute closer to
memory
New smart sensors that
enable low cost, low
power light weight
sensing everywhere
Challenges Facing the Industry
Limits of DRAM scaling
Number of CPU cores
scaling faster than
memory can support
Low CPU Utilization
Big Data Analytics
Cost per bit of DRAM
no longer scaling with
process
Massive and growing
data sets are straining
data center architecture
90nm
0.25um
0.18um
0.13um
65nm 45nm
0.35um
1990
1995
2000
2005
Gate Oxide
Thickness (nm)
10
1
The end of
•
Continued development of DDR5+
concepts
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Development of Gen n+2 ideas for
buffer chips
•
Key contributions to IP portfolio for
future licensing
Advanced Development for Future Memory
Processing
Memory
•
Faster than flash; lower cost and more
reliable than DRAM
•
Addresses slow-down in DRAM cost
reduction
•
Alternative bit-cell technology to improve
memory endurance and power efficiency
•
Rambus crosspoint ReRAM IP and
technology
Emerging Storage Class Memory
Processing
Memory
•
Exploring alternatives to accelerate
the delivery and computation of data
System architectures
Application and Platform Software
FPGA acceleration
•
Compatible with existing data center
hardware and software infrastructure
New Memory Architecture: Smart Data Acceleration
Processing
Memory
Rambus Reveals Smart Data Acceleration Research Program
Advanced development platform slated to improve performance and power efficiency for data centers
SUNNYVALE, Calif. – September 14, 2015 – Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) today
announced the Smart Data Acceleration (SDA) Research Program designed to tackle major issues facing data centers in the age of Big Data. The SDA Research Program has been exploring new architectures for servers and data centers that are optimized for rack-level Big Data computation, targeting significant improvements in performance and power efficiency, as the industry brings computing closer to data.
“Modern servers are out of balance with today’s needs – data centers are under stress due to escalating demands of real-time access to large amounts of information driven by Big Data and new applications,” said Laura Stark, senior vice president and general manager of the Emerging Solutions division at Rambus. “This research platform focuses on architectures that offload computing closer to very large data sets at multiple points in the memory and storage hierarchy.”
As part of the program, Rambus has created a platform to investigate system architectures that include software, firmware, FPGAs and large amounts of memory. The platform can be used to test new methods to optimize and accelerate data analytics for extremely large data sets.
With use cases including real-time risk analytics, ad serving, neural imaging, transcoding and genome mapping, the Rambus SDA Research program is a key technology investment for the next generation of data centers.
NEWS RELEASE
Focus Areas for Improving System Performance
P
erfo
rm
an
ce
DRAM vs. SSD
•
Lower latency under load improves
application performance; benefits increase
as workload demands rise
Minimizing Data Movement
•
High memory capacity reduces the time
and power spent moving data back and
forth across networks
System
with SSD
System
with SDA
Compute Offload and Acceleration
•
FPGAs enable parallel offloading and
acceleration of compute tasks next to the
memory storing the data
Lensless Smart Sensor
Commercial Sensor Lens
LSS Spiral Grating
“Rambus on-chip camera will lead to finer
gesture recognition”
- CNET
“Tiny sensors such as these are going to be
used in always-on, always-connected smart
devices that are going to improve every part
of our daily lives”
- Tom’s Hardware
“An itty-bitty camera could bring sight to the
Internet of Things”
- MIT Technology Review
“A microscopic lens-free image sensor could
turn anything into a camera”
Partners in Open Development
•
Partnering with the industry to
accelerate and amplify discovery of
applications for our technology
•
Collaboration with partners to
develop MVP (minimal viable product)
prototypes
POD Program
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Hardware development kits featuring
LSS test chip built on open-source
hardware and software
•
Raspberry PI platform
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POD kits include:
Maker boards with grating/sensor,
program brief & instructions, apps +
firmware, SDK, imaging toolkit, tutorials
and documentation
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Image change detection
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Point tracking
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Range finding
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Sophisticated gesture recognition
•
Object recognition
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Image capture
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Video streaming
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From inventing to prototyping to incubating, ESD is growing our technology
foundation
•
Growth in Big Data and the number of connected devices is creating difficult
challenges and tremendous opportunities
New memory types and architectures addressing the performance and capacity gaps in
memory hierarchy
Fundamentally new approach to capture data for ubiquitous sensing
•
Collaborative engagement models open new doors for technology creation and
