Air Force builds super computer out of PlayStations
February 23, 2023The use of gaming consoles in building supercomputers is not a new concept. In fact, it has been used by other organizations such as the US National Security Agency and NASA. However, the Air Force’s recent achievement shows how gaming technology can be utilized in other fields.
The United States Air Force recently created a supercomputer using PlayStation gaming consoles. The computer, built with 1,760 PlayStation 4 consoles, is capable of processing 2.3 petaflops — a unit of computing speed equal to one thousand million million (1015) floating-point operations per second — making it one of the world’s fastest computers.
The use of gaming consoles in building supercomputers is not a new concept. In fact, it has been used by other organizations such as the US National Security Agency and NASA. However, the Air Force’s recent achievement shows how gaming technology can be utilized in other fields.
The project was led by Mark Barnell, a computer scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory, who was tasked with finding an affordable and efficient way to build a supercomputer, and the PlayStation 4 was his answer.
Barnell and his team built a custom-made motherboard that allows multiple PlayStation 4s to be connected and work together seamlessly.
The end result is a supercomputer that can perform complex calculations and simulations. One of the benefits of using PlayStation consoles is their affordability. High-performance supercomputers typically cost millions of dollars, but the Air Force’s PlayStation-based computer cost only $10,000 per unit. This affordability means that the Air Force can build multiple units for different purposes without having to spend an “Air-Force-amount” of money.
Another benefit of the PlayStation-based supercomputer is its flexibility. The computer can be easily scaled up or down by adding or removing PlayStation consoles. This means that the Air Force can adjust the processing power of the supercomputer according to their needs.
The supercomputer is currently being used for a variety of purposes, including simulations for aircraft design, weather forecasting, and satellite imagery processing. The Air Force is also using it for research on machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
The Air Force’s use of PlayStation consoles in building a supercomputer is a testament to the versatility of gaming technology. It also highlights the importance of finding affordable and efficient ways to build high-performance computing systems.
As technology continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see more innovative solutions like this in other fields.
However, it is worth noting that the use of gaming consoles in building supercomputers does have some limitations. For instance, PlayStation consoles are not designed to be used in a supercomputer environment, and their performance may not be as reliable as traditional computing hardware. Additionally, the PlayStation-based supercomputer is not as energy-efficient as other supercomputers, and it requires a lot of space and cooling.
The Air Force’s creation of a supercomputer using PlayStations is a remarkable achievement. It shows how gaming technology can be utilized in other fields and highlights the importance of finding affordable and efficient ways to build high-performance computing systems. It will be interesting to see how this innovative solution is utilized in the future and what other technologies will be integrated with gaming technology to push the boundaries of what is possible.
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