BRIE-RAM: Exploring Biodegradable Processing-Using-Memory for Sustainable Edge Sensing

Smart sensors at the edge have the potential to become ubiquitous, but for them to be effective, we must both (1) meet stringent energy constraints while processing increasingly large amounts of data, and (2) design devices that can sit for years in an environment or on organisms without contributing to e-waste. To address both concerns, we explore the feasibility of BRIE-RAM, which performs processing-using-memory inside biodegradable resistive RAM. We evaluate BRIE-RAM’s capabilities and shortcomings through a contemporary lens, and then discuss future research needs and ethical issues to tackle in order to bring BRIE-RAM to fruition.