In case you missed it, here’s another chance to catch this week’s biggest hits. Software and “Moore’s Drumbeat,” CFD scalability at 64,000 cores, experiencing “Pluto Time,” the first LightSail images, why legendary racer John McGuinness is so fast, whether RAID is dead or alive, a computer operating on water droplets, and a breakthrough for computer vision are among the latest top stories.
Computer Vision Breakthrough: Merlin taps Powerful AI to ID Birds from Photos
In a breakthrough for computer vision and for bird-watching, researchers and bird enthusiasts have enabled computers to achieve a task that stumps most humans: identifying hundreds of bird species pictured in photos. The bird photo identifier, developed by the Visipedia research project in collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is available for free.
Computer Operates on Water Droplets
Stanford bioengineer Manu Prakash and his students have developed a synchronous computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets. Computers and water typically don’t mix, but in Manu Prakash’s lab, the two are one and the same. Prakash, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford, and his students have built a synchronous computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets.
RAID: Alive or Dead?
Is RAID dead or alive? Are erasure codes replacing RAID for data protection? We present these questions, because some storage vendors promote RAID, while others promote erasure codes. Looking at how vendors are marketing data protection in their products, it almost appears that there is a battle between RAID and erasure code technology and that everyone will agree on a winner at some point.
Why Legendary Motorcycle Racer John McGuinness is so Fast
At the Isle of Man TT races, EMC is announcing the results of a new data analytics competition designed to unlock the secret of what makes John McGuinness, the ‘Morecambe Missile,’ so fast. At the Circuit Monteblanco in Spain, EMC captured over 700,000 rows of performance, biometric and mechanical data from sensors fitted on the racing suits and bikes of both John and a control subject.
LightSail Test Mission Declared Success, First Image Complete
The Planetary Society’s LightSail test mission successfully completed its primary objective of deploying a solar sail in low-Earth orbit, mission managers said on June 9, 2015. During a ground station pass over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the final pieces of an image showcasing LightSail’s deployed solar sails were received on Earth. The image confirms the sails have unfurled, which was the final milestone of a shakedown mission.
NASA Lets You Experience “Pluto Time” with New Interactive Widget
Just how dim is the sunlight on Pluto, some three billion miles away? While sunlight is much weaker than it is here on Earth, it isn’t as dark as you might expect. In fact, for just a moment during dawn and dusk each day, the illumination on Earth matches that of high noon on Pluto. We call this “Pluto Time”. If you go outside at this time on a clear day, the world around you will be as dim as the surface of Pluto.
Researchers Achieve Breakthrough CFD Scalability at 64,000 Cores
Intelligent Light, in collaboration with scalable solver developers at Georgia Tech and HPC experts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has announced that it is achieving breakthrough CFD scalability running the AVF-Leslie combustion simulation code on up to 64,000 cores on supercomputers at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center.
Software and Moore’s Drumbeat (Moore’s Law)
Moore’s Law recently turned 50 years old, and many have used the milestone to tout its virtues, highlight positive results that stem from it, as well as advance suggestions on what the future dividends will be and boldly project the date for its inevitable demise. Moore’s Law is an observation that has undoubtedly inspired us to innovate to the pace it predicts. It has challenged us to do so. Therefore, I think of it as Moore’s drumbeat.
