Next generation supercomputer a speed demon

Scientists are developing a next-generation supercomputer capable of performing 1 quintillion (a billion times a billion) calculations per second, which, if successful, will further enhance China's leading position in the field.

Tianjin's National Supercomputer Center is working with the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, Hunan province, to develop the super scale computer.

Meng Xiangfei, assistant director of the center, says the aim is to make the computer by 2020, with all hardware and software developed by Chinese engineers.

Once complete, the machine will be 200 times faster than China's Tianhe-1 supercomputer, as well as some of the world's most powerful supercomputers, he says.

Sunway TaihuLight is currently the world's fastest system, capable of 93 quadrillion calculations a second, according to the TOP500 rankings released in June at the 2016 International Supercomputing Conference in Germany.

Researchers say Sunway TaihuLight is twice as fast and three times as efficient as Tianhe-2, which held the top spot in six consecutive TOP500 rankings from June 2013.

Talking about the new system's development schedule, Meng says a prototype could be finished as early as 2017, and it will be used to demonstrate large-scale computing technologies.

Once complete, the superfast computing system will mark a huge advancement in terms of intensity of calculation, capacity of single chips, and the rate of data transmission, he says.

In 2010, China put into service the Tianhe-1, its first "petaflop" supercomputer, capable of at least 1 quadrillion (a million times a billion) calculations a second. Since then, Tianhe-1 has been supporting various industries including oil exploration, high-end equipment manufacturing, biological medicine and animation.

China is the world's No 1 owner and operator of supercomputers, with 167 systems included in the June TOP500 rankings. The United States has 165.

In addition to supercomputers, China is also working to bolster the robot industry to serve public, commercial and military purposes.

Robots have been widely used in manufacturing sectors in China. More than 68,000 industrial robots were sold to Chinese enterprises last year, which means the nation has continued to be the biggest user of industrial robots in the world since 2013, when it surpassed Japan.

In April, the central government issued a five-year development plan for the robot industry, aiming to help Chinese institutes and companies catch up with leading foreign competitors in terms of key parts such as servomotor, and sensors.

In the military field, robots are no longer uncommon equipment for the People's Liberation Army, as an increasing number of units have started to use tracked robots to carry out patrols, reconnaissance and bomb disposal.

Chinese engineers have also developed various walking robots that can relieve soldiers from the burden of heavy equipment and large backpacks.