High performance computing applications may sound sophisticated; but in simple terms, it collects an enormous amount of data and a considerable number of resources – to do what? To design soda cans, and we are not kidding, it matters a lot. Just to give you an idea, think about the number of sodas people drink every day; and each second, people consume more than 6000 sodas.
If the design of the soda cans was even a bit irregular or flawed; it would lead to wastage of resources worth billions. But high-performance computing application is not only used for making soda cans. In fact, it is ingrained in our life processes and affects the ease of life that we’re having from generating a virtual heart to flying ships.
Although high-performance computing applications are not pocket-friendly but the increasing innovation in the computing world makes the processes less painful and worth the time.
List Of High Performance Computing Applications
Below are some high performance computing applications which not only changed the world but still influenced it.
1. Aerodynamics
After the Wright brothers have gifted aircraft to the world, we genuinely accepted it and kept researching it. And now we can see the marvels of supersonic fighter planes and planes that can carry more than 800 people in one go. But if you think about the time and resources required to achieve this feat; you will end up thanking high-performance computing applications again. Because the researchers can not possibly try to fly a plane that can be flawed, risking the resources and lives.
That’s when a high-performance computing application steps in and makes a virtual airplane that acts just as a physical plane but won’t cost anything. If the process fails, we can continue with the research any number of times we want. Several simulation software is also created to test out the aircraft and the possible aircraft that can be manufactured; as it provides a gateway to innovation without much resource wastage.
2. Augmented Reality
After the invention of VR, people were fawning over it for a long time; and with such tremendous research going on in the virtual world, augmented reality is not fetched at all. From the last decade, technological advancement is on an all-time high – all thanks to high-performance computing applications.
Augmented reality is a high-performance computing application that can make a virtual experience seem like it was reality. It can be used to experience and test out several products before you actually go and buy them. It can be used for the defense and security team to train them; or test their reaction to improve.
3. Predictive Cardiovascular Health
The most important fact behind almost all the innovation is that it contributes to the ease of life for humans as a whole. When the welfare of humans comes into view, health is the most obvious factor to look at. Cardiovascular health refers to the circulatory system of blood and the non-stop working machine inside us, the heart.
Heart failure is obviously life-threatening, but even mere heart disease can end someone’s life. And to thin out that possibility; a predictive high-performance computing application is developed that can predict a possible heart failure and warn the victim in advance. The Cardioid uses the heart rating samples and much other patient-related information to achieve this feat.
IBM is famous for its contribution in the field of supercomputers but it also helped humans with the study of the human heart. Along with a defense laboratory and Sequoia (one of the fastest supercomputers in the world); it historically stimulated the homeostatic mechanism of the heart on a molecular level in 2012.
4. Autonomous Driving Technology
A self-driving car is something that we’ve seen only in futuristic movies and shows; but it’s on the verge of being available to common people. The self-driving car mechanism is a high-performance computing application and it is not as simple as it sounds because it is not human.
It has to consider so many variables, and those variables are not only steering left or right but every activity happening around in real-time. And for this, a very high-tech computer system is needed that runs fast enough to hit the brakes; and fast enough to stop running over someone. One such company is Tesla which is in the limelight for quite a lot of reasons.
Anyway, its product, the Tesla car; is not fully automated yet but they have a load of research and trials ahead of them. Self-navigating and self-driving cars are going to change our day-to-day life. There will be no need for extra eyes and with this technology, the number of accidents that occur all over the world will have a drastic drop in numbers.
5. Understanding the Viral Genome
The recent pandemic was able to shake everyone’s psychological health along with the world economy to a great extent. But we survived through it, and now we are making preparations for any next big viral outbreak there can be. One of the main reasons why we survived through this pandemic so well is the vaccine, and believe me or not; high-performance computing applications played a giant role here that can’t be overlooked in any way.
CSIRO, a high-performance computing application was successful to decipher and explore the complete genome of the Covid-19; which was simulated on a CSIRO supercomputer in 2020. The moment we talk about the viral genome, the discussion moves to the very individual and molecular level. The topic is simple and complex at the same time because it’s possible to sequence a viral genome but understanding its invasive pathology is nothing less than hard because it mutates.
With the help of high-performance computing applications; it has become easier to understand the invasive nature of viral genomes, especially Covid-19, as it is still having variants of it. So, resources are needed for research and mass-produce vaccines to help the people in general.
6. NASA’s Solar Weather Monitoring
Many of us are still unaware of how the weather forecast is done; and how it is possible to predict an event of the future. Well, in simple terms, they kind of work like us. When we notice cool breezes and the sky is getting dark (during the day), we assume that it will rain. This is how we forecast rain from some factors.
The high-end computers do the same; except it takes in a larger amount of data and can look further into the future. But if we step up the forecasting of the weather; we will know about the forecasting of the weather of the Solar system, which is on a different level. Now, a question might arise in your head about the need for the weather forecast of the solar system. But mark my words, the forecasting of the weather of the solar system is important.
And, many lives are at stake because spacecraft and rockets are released into space considering the condition of the solar weather. So, NASA leveraged a high-performance computing application to monitor the extreme UV that can cause solar flares to affect solar weather. This will also help future space ventures to be assured of fine weather (in the solar system too).
Conclusion
By now, all the readers must have understood that high performance computing applications have innumerable scopes of work but they must be used properly. And the ones who are working with high-performance computing applications, have been facing certain technicalities. Once these are removed, it can really change everything.
IBM and Microsoft use supercomputers.
Yes, supercomputers are still being used.
Fugaku is the most powerful computer in the world.