On the Rules of Low Power Design (and Why You Should Break Them)

Energy and power constraints have emerged as one of the greatest lingering challenges to progress in the computing industry. In this talk, Todd Austin, an electrical engineering and computer science professor at the University of Michigan, will highlight some of the "rules" of low-power design and show how they bind the creativity and productivity of architects and designers. He believes the best way to deal with these rules is to disregard them, through innovative design solutions that abandon traditional design methodologies. To support his case, Todd highlights two rule-breaking design technologies from his work. The first technique (Razor) combines low-power designs with resiliency mechanisms to craft highly introspective and efficient systems. The second technique (Subliminal) embraces subthreshold voltage design, which holds great promise for highly energy efficient systems.