Mercury Computer Systems Inc, the Chelmsford, Massachusetts company that builds back-end and embedded real-time scientific processors, has been showing a multi-chip module implementation of its RACE technology, claiming a new record for computational density in an embedded system. The configuration uses 720 RISC processors – up to now, Mercury has used Intel Corp 80860s, but is planning a move to PowerPC – to deliver a computational density of 10 GFLOPS per cubic foot. It sees the prototype leading to a new generation of real-time embedded systems for sonar, radar, telemetry, signal intelligence, simulation and similar defence applications. Mercury claims these fruits of its Project Platinum are the first to achieve and surpass the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s goal of demonstrating 10 GFLOPS per cubic foot of computational density by the end of last year, with the ability to reach 60 GFLOPS per cubic foot in the near future. Mercury plans to begin production ships of systems using multi-chip modules in the summer.
