Named the Condor Cluster and to be unveiled Wednesday, it's the fastest interactive computer the Defense Department has, the Air Force said.

Researchers under the command of Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, harnessed the computing power of off-the-shelf PlayStation 3 consoles linked to more traditional graphical processing computer components, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.

The Condor Cluster can be used to solve image-matching problems and assist in surveillance situations, using radar enhancement and pattern recognition capabilities, the Air Force said.

The total cost of $2 million is about 10 to 20 times cheaper than what a tradition supercomputer system would cost, Air Force officials said.

Harnessing video gaming technology for super computing may seem unusual but "unusual is a relative term," said Larry Merkle, assistant chairman of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Wright State University.

Video game consoles were developed with cutting-edge graphics capabilities and the ability to handle extensive numerical computations, he said.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Super Computer News and HPC Technology

Russia made no missile defence offer to NATO: ambassador NATO rebuffs Russian missile defense offer: report Medvedev wants missile defence carve-up of Europe: reports McCain: 'Waste no time' on missile shield NATO mulls missile cooperation with Russia Raytheon Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 Completes Key Flight Test Lockheed Martin's JAGM Hits Target From 6 Kilometers Tehran has defences against cruise missiles: Iran Singapore drones to be deployed US drone attack kills three militants in Pakistan: officials Pakistani tribesman 'to sue CIA' over drone strike deaths US drone attack kills three militants in Pakistan: officials Codan Receives JITC Certification For 2110 HF Manpack Northrop Grumman Bids for Marine Corps Common Aviation CnC DSP Satellite System Celebrates 40 Years ManTech Awarded US Army Contract To Provide ECCS In Afghanistan US Reservists Clear Path For Air Force Largest Rocket Rheinmetall And Sikorsky Present Cyclone Naval Helicopter Robots To Rescue Wounded On Battlefield Myanmar now the only active landmine user: campaigners Small business wary of Pentagon black list EADS wont rule out protest over mix-up Nigerian court charges Iranian over arms cache Russia, NATO agree on armoured vehicles transfers: Lavrov WikiLeaks says it is under new cyber attack: Twitter feed WikiLeaks facing global backlash Nukes WikiLeak 'illegal, irresponsible and dangerous': NATO Clinton 'should resign,' WikiLeaks founder says Boeing Installing Beam Control System On HEL Laser Demonstrator Maritime Laser System Shows Higher Lethality At Longer Ranges Northrop Grumman To Increase Efficiency For Next-Gen Military Laser Technology Boeing Receives Task Order For Design Of Free Electron Laser Lab Demonstrator