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Category: computing – Page 833

For those who read here often, there are clear signs that the FPGA is set to become a compelling acceleration story over the next few years.

From the relatively recent Intel acquisition of Altera by chip giant Intel, to less talked-about advancements on the programming front (OpenCL progress, advancements in both hardware and software from FPGA competitor to Intel/Altera, Xilinx) and of course, consistent competition for the compute acceleration market from GPUs, which dominate the coprocessor market for now.

Last week at the Open Compute Summit we finally got a glimpse of one of the many ways FPGAs might fit into the hyperscale ecosystem (along with other future hardware insight) with an announcement that Intel will be working on future OCP designs featuring an integrated FPGA and Xeon chip. Unlike what many expected, the CPU mate will not be a Xeon D, but rather a proper Broadwell EP. As seen below, this appears to be a 15-core part (Intel did not confirm, but their diagram makes counting rather easy) matched with the Altera Arria 10 GX FPGAs.

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LONDON & MIAMI–()–Blue Prism, the pioneering developer of enterprise Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software, today announced its debut on AIM of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The first developer of software robots to trade on the public markets, Blue Prism, working closely with its global network of partners, grew 35% last year and has deployments with more than 74 customers, including a number of the world’s largest banks, insurers, utilities, healthcare, telecommunications, service providers and other regulated industries. The initial public offering (IPO) will allow Blue Prism to support its global growth plans and enhance its profile within the RPA marketplace.

“Today’s milestone follows a successful year for the company, and marks a shift in acceptance for software robots as a mainstream choice for the enterprise digital workforce,” said Alastair Bathgate, co-founder and CEO of Blue Prism. “Software robots have been deployed successfully and strategically by large, blue chip organizations that have derived tremendous value from this new solution to the labor market, it’s not science fiction.”

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The science fiction world is full of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but AI reality is still far away. According to an article featured in Technology Review, technology is still suffering and nowhere near the expectations of AI.

Senior editor for AI at MIT Technology Review, Will Knight wrote, “For all the remarkable progress being made in artificial intelligence, and warnings about the upheaval this might bring, the smartest computer would still struggle to make it through the eighth grade.”

Knight relates how programmers competed in an Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) contest. The programmers were challenged to write computer programs that could take a science test that was eighth-grade level. During the annual Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) meeting, the winner was announced.

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One of the latest inventions out of Tel Aviv University can patch up broken hearts. We’re talking about the real organs here, especially those damaged by myocardial infarction or heart attack. A team from the Israeli university created a “cyborg heart patch” that combines both living tissue and electronic components to replace the damaged parts of the organ. “It’s very science fiction, but it’s already here,” says one of its creators, Prof. Tal Dvir. “[W]e expect it to move cardiac research forward in a big way.” The patch can contract and expand like real heart tissue can, but it can do much, much more than that.

The electronic components allow doctors to remotely monitor their patients’ condition from afar. A physician could log into a computer and see if the implant is working as intended. If he senses that something’s amiss, he could release drugs to, say, regulate inflammation or fix the lack of oxygen. That sounds dangerous to us, since computers can be hacked. But the researchers are aiming to develop the patch further so it can regulate itself with no human intervention.

Dvir warns that the “practical realization of the technology may take some time.” For now, those suffering from cardiovascular diseases will have to rely on current treatment methods. The team is still in the midst of refining their cyborg heart patch. Plus, they’re looking at how to create bionic brain and spinal cord tissues using what they’ve learned so far to treat neurological conditions.

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Next to Quantum and Biocomputing, this is one of my favorites. Cloak material to avoid radar. Unfortunatley, we cannot have access to the material for our autos; but it would be nice to have on my car sometimes when I am running late and having to drive quickly somewhere.

Two separate teams of engineers, both conducting research into meta-materials (composites not found in nature) with the intent of developing a flexible, stretchable and tunable meta-skin, are sharing their discoveries with the world. Although the two developments revolve around the same premise—manipulating electromagnetic waves so that the surface that banquets an object becomes invisible—a few exciting differences between the teams’ approaches sets their research apart.

meta-materials

Engineers at Iowa State University are developing meta-skins which suppresses radar detection, meaning that this version can be seen by the naked eye, but not by cameras. The implications of such a device are many, particularly for covert operations and security, hiding sensitive layouts of electronic components and advancing the development of optical computers.

Continue reading “Meta-Materials Bring Us Another Step Closer to an Invisibility Cloak” | >

Interesting position that IBM is taking with Quantum Computing. The one challenge that was highlighted in this article around unstable particles actually has been in the process of being resolved by Charles Marcus and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute; Univ. of Copenhagan’s report came out a few weeks ago and it may be a good thing for IBM to connect with the University so they can see how this was resolved.

Also, I don’t believe that we have 3 uniquely different platforms of Quantum as this article highlights. Trying to state that a D-Wave Quantum Computer is not a full Quantum platform or less of a Quantum Platform to is not a fair statement; and I encourage others to pull back from that perspective at this point until Quantum Computing is more evolved and standards around the platform is well defined and approved by industry. Also, the Gartner graph in this article is not one that I embraced given the work on Quantum is showing us the we’re less than 10 yrs away for it in the mainstream instead of Gartners graph showing us Quantum will require more than 10 years to hit the mainstream. And, I saw some of missed marks on Bio-sensors and BMI technology taking more than 10 years on the Gartner graph which is also incorrect since we hearing this week announcements of the new bio-chips which enables bio-sensors and BMIs are making some major steps forward with various devices and implants.

The 3 Types Of Quantum Computers And Their Applications by Jeff Desjardins, Visual Capitalist

It’s an exciting time in computing.

Continue reading “Quantum Computers And Their Applications [INFOGRAPHIC]” | >