Description

APROPOS, an EU-funded PhD project under the Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks, addresses the pressing need for energy efficiency in future computing and communication systems. With forecasts indicating that by 2040, global electricity demands from computers could exceed available resources, and data centers already consuming 20% of available electricity, the project aims to confront these challenges head-on. The Approximate Computing for Power and Energy Optimisation (APROPOS) project seeks to train 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) to pioneer innovative methodologies for energy optimization. By introducing adaptive Approximate Computing techniques, APROPOS targets a significant reduction in energy consumption while maintaining acceptable levels of accuracy. The project's focus encompasses distributed computing and communications for cloud-based cyber-physical systems, recognizing the energy-intensive nature of these domains. APROPOS leverages the concept of Approximate Computing, which allows trading off accuracy for energy savings, potentially improving efficiency by a factor of 10x-50x. This groundbreaking initiative not only addresses the imminent energy crisis but also positions Europe as a leader in Approximate Computing research, vital for developing sustainable computing and communication solutions for the future. 

Goals and innovations of the project

The goals and innovations of the APROPOS project converge on advancing energy efficiency in computing and communication systems while training future leaders to address global challenges. APROPOS aims to pioneer adaptive Approximate Computing techniques, dynamically optimizing energy-accuracy trade-offs to achieve significant energy savings without compromising performance. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration among experts in circuit design, architecture, software engineering, and system-level optimization, the project fosters comprehensive solutions to complex energy efficiency challenges. By targeting cloud-based cyber-physical systems, APROPOS addresses the energy-intensive nature of modern computing infrastructures, positioning Europe as a leader in Approximate Computing research and establishing the continent as a hub for sustainable computing and communication technologies.