Alcatel is the challenge of saving energy
The world of telecom and Internet is one of the largest energy consumers in the world. Also, the giants of the industry can not stand idly by. Alcatel-Lucent and its famous Bell Labs in the United States have therefore taken the initiative to create a consortium, called "Green Touch" to floor on this issue. From the outset, the consortium brings together the best researchers. Around the Bell Labs of Alcatel and research laboratories of Samsung of South Korea are three of the most prestigious American universities specializing in technology: Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard. The National Institute for Research in Computer Science (INRIA) and laboratories from CEA-Leti in Grenoble are part of the French side, and the Belgian research institute IMEC.Finally, two operators, Telefonica, and Swisscom, join the adventure.
For six months, Bell Labs, the famous centers of R & D of Alcatel-Lucent, consider a crucial question: "How much energy a telecommunications network can it be reduced without affecting capacity information transmission? "
Networks must be completely redesigned, including the architecture should be changed. For example, "wireless telecommunications are one of the largest contributors to the energy needs of a network. It is easy to reduce the power emitted by an antenna, and therefore consumption, removing his show in all directions in space and focus the signal to the next station or end user, "says the boss research at Bell Labs.Moreover, the power of an antenna of a wireless network can be reduced by using tricks to encode the signal. "Thus, information can be extracted even if the noise level is high." Architecture is another central point: "To perform a calculation, the human brain needs a million times less energy a computer, thanks to its apparently chaotic! "
Consumption divided by 10 000
"After six months of work, we have calculated, based on our many disciplines such as physics, mechanics and quantum computing, it is possible to reduce, at most, by 10 000 energy d a telecommunications network, "said Gee Rittenhouse, head of research at Bell Labs. "We can not do everything alone.We have therefore decided to create a consortium, called "Green Touch," whose objective is already reduced by 1 000 the energy of a telecommunications network within five years. This consortium will bring together four groups of actors: universities, industrial laboratories, research institutes, non-profit and telecommunications operators, "said Gee Rittenhouse.
Besides protecting the environment, this research will have another impact: Increase the amount of data transmitted in the network without increasing the radiation, which concern both consumer groups.