A new approach to chips could help future-proof the IoT

It all comes down to the silicon. At the heart of every connected device are chips that serve as a brain by taking in information and relaying information back out, along with dozens of components that provide an internal clock, power management, and more. While AI and software updates can change the functionality of our devices in pretty awesome ways, the underlying hardware will always be a limiting factor. You can’t send an update if the device doesn’t have enough memory to hold that update in storage for the turnover, for example. Nor can you can teach an old chip new tricks if it doesn’t have the processing power. And over time, those limitations — along with the physical limitations of silicon — show their age, turning a once-cool product into a heap of junk.