In order to realise the true potential of the Internet of Things (IoT), some level of decision-making capability at the edge is essential; to reduce unnecessary data transfer and storage, improve security, speed up critical responses, and improve access to remote and hazardous environments. This is especially true of industrial IoT (IIoT, sometimes referred to as the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0), which is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technologies and methods for the IoT. A recent McKinsey report estimates the IIoT market to be worth between $1.2 to 3.7 trillion by 2025 1, with significant gains to enterprises, the environment and the circular economy. Challenging environments are common across many IIoT applications that include automotive, aerospace, industrial, power generation, defence, and petrochemical industries.  

The i-EDGE project aims to unlock more reliable measurement and control in such challenging environments, by embedding intelligence in IoT nodes with a “more than Moore” approach. To achieve this, we will use zero-standby-power, high-temperature and radiation-hard nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relays in lieu of transistors for processing and storage, alongside sensors, integrated using a high-density interconnect stack. This project will help position the EU at the cutting edge of chip manufacturing capability, as envisaged by the new EU Chips Act. 

The objective of our project is to develop zero standby power, high-temperature capable and radiation-hard NEM field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) with integrated non-volatile memory (NVM). We will realise thse FPGAs by utilising our foundry compatible, back-end-of-line integrated NEM relay technology, that we have developed within the H2020 ZeroAMP project. We build FPGA and NVM prototypes to serve three classes of IIoT applications, (i) data security, (ii) asset tracking and (iii) condition-aware monitoring, to specifications identified by our industrial exploitation council.  

The following capabilities in our NEM computing platform provide a transformational, step change for computing at the edge:  

• Integration of logic with non-volatile memory on the same chip, bypassing a fundamental limitation in CMOS. 
• Zero standby power across the entire range of environmental conditions. 
• Operation up to 300 °C and 1 Mrad absorbed dose, far higher than any competing technology. 
• Lower device count circuits and much higher programmable routing connections available than with CMOS, due to our unique double-throw switches and 4-terminal NEM switches. 
• Integration of sensing and processing on the same chip.