Are analogue computers and quantum computing the future of computing? We don’t know. But we are convinced that it is worth continuing to develop this exciting technology path and testing it for practical applications – in our DLR QCI context, of course, also with regard to its suitability in interaction with quantum computers (with which they have certain similarities) or as fast and economical signal processors, for example in aerospace. We are therefore delighted that analogue computing – after a long phase of hobbyism and tinkering – is finding its way back onto the market and into practical applications with start-ups such as Anabrid. The only way to find out whether a technology works in practice is to put it into practice.
LUCIDAC
– 8 integrators, 4 multipliers, 32 coefficient elements & flexible summation system
– 16 analogue I/O, 2×25 IDC digital IO, 8 LEDs, 3 MCX trigger output, USB-C & Ethernet
– Auto-calibration system for maximum accuracy
– Solves complex differential equations and non-linear systems with high precision and speed
– Availability: 2024/2025; extensions and accessories: 2024
LUCIDAC
– 8 integrators, 4 multipliers, 32 coefficient elements & flexible summation system
– 16 analogue I/O, 2×25 IDC digital IO, 8 LEDs, 3 MCX trigger output, USB-C & Ethernet
– Auto-calibration system for maximum accuracy
– Solves complex differential equations and non-linear systems with high precision and speed
– Availability: 2024/2025; extensions and accessories: 2024
Experience with analogue-digital hybrid computing
With Lucidac, Anabrid is now commercialising a technology that it developed as part of the DLR QCI project REDAC: Lucidac is a fully digitally reconfigurable analogue computer that aims to introduce customers to “one of the most important unconventional computing paradigms”, according to project manager Lucas Wetzel from Anabrid.
On the one hand, Lucidac is a test platform from which the new paradigm of analogue-digital hybrid computing can be explored. But it can also be used to tackle practical problems, such as the development of an optimal configuration of analogue control units. They can be tested on the Lucidac, optimised and then cast in integrated hardware. A hardware-in-the-loop approach could also be used to map control loops. This is relevant for robotics and sensor technology, for example. For example, analogue sensor signals could be fed in directly and the results of the analogue calculation output as analogue and digital signals.
“With the launch of the LUCIDAC, we are setting a new standard in the field of analogue computing. This product is the result of years of intensive research and development.”
Lucas Wetzel, CSO, anabrid
Market-orientated technology transfer
LUCIDAC is also an example of how market-orientated technology transfer works in the DLR QCI: Anabrid has developed technologies as part of the work on the QCI REDAC project. We examine these results and register suitable inventions with the patent office. Anabrid receives an exclusive licence to commercialise the technologies it has developed in the project.
In this way, we fulfil two of our central tasks: We enable technology transfer and strengthen the industrial ecosystem for future-proof compute technologies. The intellectual property remains in Germany and Europe, thus enabling sustainable, sovereign access to technology.
Analogue computing
Analogue computers were long regarded as a technological dead end: too imprecise, too cumbersome – inferior to digital computers in everything. However, it is now becoming apparent that they could be an energy-saving alternative for machine learning and large simulations and a complementary element for hybrid computing. What’s more, for certain applications, analogue computers could even be as powerful as quantum computers but far simpler and cheaper to manufacture and operate. This is a promising gap between classical digital computing and quantum computing, which we want to explore and close with our own analogue computers.
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