Conclusion

Reconfigurable computing will not be taking over general purpose processors anytime soon. But five or ten years from now, anything can happen. Large companies like Texas Instruments are already keeping an eye on this technology to make sure it doesn't catch them off guard, like what happened to Intel when they lost the RAM business to Japanese manufacturers back in the heydays. Top universities like the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are not keeping quiet. They have invested millions of dollars in FPGA research.

"I definitely think there's a big future in reconfigurable computing -- a lot of my research focuses on that area. In particular, FPGA-like organizations are one of the best candidates for processors that are implemented in technologies other than silicon, so I think you'll be seeing a lot more work in this area in the coming years." Dr. Nicholas Carter, Professor University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

With advances in FPGA software and technology, reconfigurable computing may be the new wave of computing.

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