Measuring just one square millimeter, Ambiq Micro's prototype
microcontroller is approximately 10 times more energy efficient
than conventional microprocessors in active mode, and up to 130
times more energy efficient in sleep mode. Product applications
for the technology range from medical devices to smart credit
cards. AMBIQ MICRO | David Blaauw, Scott Hanson, Dennis
Sylvester Imagine a world in which clothing, phones, credit
cards, appliances, cars, medical devices, roads, even entire
buildings are embedded with tiny intelligent sensors that are
constantly monitoring and managing activities. That phenomenon,
called ubiquitous computing, is already underway. But it’s been
hampered by the size of the batteries required to power
conventional microchips. All that could change, however, with
the October 2010 launch of U-M start-up Ambiq Micro and its
energy-efficient micro-controllers. Ambiq’s breakthrough
technology is the result of nearly 10 years of research by U-M
Electrical Engineering professors David Bla