Desktop-sized laser supercomputers could be coming by 2020

Small, eco-friendly optical supercomputers may soon be crunching quadrillions of calculations per second (exaflops) if a company called Optalysys has its way. It claims to be months away from demonstrating a prototype optical computer that will run at 346 gigaflops to start with — not as fast as the best supercomputers, but pretty good for a proof-of-concept. Here’s how it works: low-intensity lasers are beamed through layers of liquid crystal grids, which change the light intensity based on user inputted data. The resulting interference patterns can be used to solve mathematical equations and perform other tasks. By splitting the beam through multiple grids, the system can compute in parallel much more efficiently than standard multi-processing supercomputers (as shown in the charming Heinz Wolff-hosted video below).

It also uses very low amounts of power, with exascale-level systems capable of running for mere thousands of dollars a year, compared to millions a year for the Tinanhe-2, the current supercomputer champ. After launching the prototype system, the company plans to build two products: a “big data” optical co-processor that can work with existing supercomputers, and a standalone optical solver supercomputer. It expects the latter to launch as a product in 2017 at 9 petflops, with up to 17.1 exaflops (17,100 petaflops) by 2020. By way of contrast, the Tianhe-2 does about 34 petaflops. It all sounds pretty pie-in-the-sky at this point, but we should have a better idea of the feasibility when the prototype arrives in January.

Filed under: Desktops, Science, Alt

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Via: HPC Wire

Source: Optalysys

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Origami robot doesn’t need a human to assemble itself and start working

Folding robots are nothing new, but scientists from Harvard and MIT have taken it to the next level, by designing one that assembles itself and walks away to do its job with zero human input. The robots start out as a flat sheet of paper and polystyrene plastic (which you most likely know as Shrinky Dinks) etched with strategically placed hinges. Since those materials aren’t enough to make a full-fledged robot, the scientists also placed a flexible circuit board in the middle (with circuits extending to every hinge), two motors, a microcontroller and two batteries. It’s the microcontroller that’s in charge of activating the circuits to produce heat on command, which then leads to the flat sheet folding itself like an origami. When the hinges cool after a few minutes and the polystyrene hardens, the microcontroller commands the robot to scuttle away and do its thing.

The same team of scientists created a foldable robot worm and a robot lamp in the past years, but this is their first creation that’s capable of performing a function after it builds itself. It’s far from being perfect, though, and still has a ways to go before anyone can use it for a particular purpose. For instance, the assembly process is triggered by slotting a battery in, but the researchers plan to modify the robot so that it starts folding itself based on environmental cues like changes in pressure or temperature. Also, the mechanical critters could use a different polymer other than polystyrene, one that requires less heat to start folding. At this point in time, the prototypes are prone to bursting into flames, since they use so much energy — in fact, just the assembly itself depletes a whole AA battery.

In the future, the team believes the robot can be used not only for search and rescue missions, but also for other far-out applications. They believe their design could be used to make flat satellites that assemble themselves in space, for one. The team also dreams of the day when people can rent origami robots for any reason they please, whether it’s just to help them sweep the lawn or to detect gas leaks.

[Image credit: Harvard’s Wyss Institute]

Filed under: Robots, Science

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Via: The Wall Street Journal, IEEE

Source: Harvard Wyss Institute, Science

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Verizon adds push-to-talk to Android phones, makes smart walkie-talkies

Verizon’s push-to-talk services already existed, but it was a pretty creaky service. It’s now upgraded its offering (for five bucks a month), with a free six-month trial to anyone that signs up now. Right now. Supported Android devices range from the Galaxy S5 to Casio’s hardy G’zOne Commando 4G LTE — the latter is probably the most appropriate handset for the service. Verizon’s promising faster connections when trying to talk to your fellow paintballers (and handsome gardeners), as well as improved voice quality. If your device isn’t supported, you could hold out hope that the service rolls out to other phones in Verizon’s stable — Kyocera’s latest ruggedized smartphone is also set to get the feature later this year.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon

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Via: Android Beat

Source: Verizon

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Dish Anywhere app now looks much better on tablets

Since the very beginning, Dish has been doing a really good job with its Anywhere mobile app. Aside from letting Hopper with Sling owners use it to view their DVR recordings, the application also offers access to a robust library of on-demand content. To that end, Dish Anywhere has now been further improved on iPad, Android and Kindle Fire tablets, with a redesigned UI and fresh discovery features that let users easily find new stuff to watch. But there’s more beyond the pretty, image-heavy pages like the one pictured above. Dish made the app better in other ways, thanks to new features including a Watchlist, the ability to turn your device into a Dish remote, and more. If you haven’t grabbed the update, you can do so via the App Store, Google Play or Amazon Appstore, depending on what tablet you’re rocking these days.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD

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Source: Dish

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