Part 2
This is Part 2 of a feature that looks into the real life applications of the PS3 or rather the ways in which people have used its capabilities outside of its intended (read primary) purpose as a Blu-ray player and games console. A brief look at what this article contains.
Cluster of Sony PlayStation3’s used for large-scale modelling of the human brain
300 PS3s ordered for the U.S. Air Force
Axion Racing’s entry into the DARPA Urban Challenge
PlayStation3 Gravity Grid
Folding@Home
6. Cluster of Sony PlayStation3’s used for large-scale modelling of the human brain
IBM’s ‘Cell University Challenge 2007′ aimed to promote the creation of applications specifically made for the Cell Broadband Engine™(Cell/B.E.) developed by Sony, IBM and Toshiba. The Grand Prize went to students, Jayram Moorkanikara Nageswaran and Jeff Furlong from the University of California, Irvine (USA), and Ashok Chandrashekar and Andrew Felch from the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College (USA), who developed a low cost cluster able to support the complex algorithms used in brain research.
(Image from the winning proposal)
This study addressed the difficult issues surrounding in visual processing; for example, the complex computations required to emulate the human brain’s ability recognise objects. Through using the Cell technology, primarily its parallel instruction set that is similar to understood method of processing the brain uses and utilising a cluster of three PS3’s they were able to show a 100x performance boost over smaller clusters.
The winning proposal of the Cell University Challenge 2007 (a Word .doc file)
[Via IBM]
7. 300 PS3s ordered for the U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force recently requested 300 40GB PS3’s for use in Cell processor research. The primary reason for selecting the PS3 unit is that “The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost.”
A Request for Proposal or order in layman’s terms also mentions the fact that they expect the same terms and conditions given to consumers “in customary commercial practice.”
RFP from fbo.gov
[Via ps3.qj.net]
8. Axion Racing’s entry into the DARPA Urban Challenge
The DARPA Urban Challenge is a series of events designed to test autonomous vehicles for “the goal of developing technology that will keep warfighters off the battlefield and out of harm’s way.” Axion Racing, a team that has previously participated in the event, used a PS3 running Yellow Dog Linux as part of its on-board image recognition system. ‘Spirit’ the name of Axion Racing’s vehicle, was the first of its kind to drive itself to the 14,110 foot summit of Colorado’s Pikes Peak. Unfortunately it didn’t make it through to the finals of this years contest.
The setup uses the stereo vision concept to determine object distance. Using two cameras that take a picture simultaneously and then running them through the software produces something called a disparity map. The further away the object is the smaller the disparity map, likewise the opposite for near objects. The PS3 setup was designed for road detection when reversing from a parking spot.
Axion Racing’s website article about the PS3 but you’d probably much rather go here or here (Axion Racing’s Twins)
9. PlayStation3 Gravity Grid
Dr Gaurav Khanna (right), a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts developed a super computer network of eight PS3’s to create what he calls the ‘Gravity Grid‘. Previously he had been renting time on NASA and the National Science Foundation supercomputers at a cost of between $20,000 and $30,000 a year. Combining 8 PS3’s would cost around $4000 and as he puts it,
“For a one-time cost, I have this resource I can use privately. I can use it indefinitely over and over again. That’s hugely attractive.”
Using the Cell chip and a Linux OS Khanna programmed the networked ’supercomputer’ to run complex equations to predict the gravity waves that are generated by the super-sized black holes at the centers of galaxies.
Whilst Khanna is confident that the PS3’s are performing up to standard following months of testing he is sure that the need for supercomputers will still be around. “The fundamental limitation of the gaming console is its relatively limited memory, with only 512M of RAM per console, “and it’s not expandable,” he said. The PS3 would have difficulty with complex calculations that require more memory, a job that would still need the power of a more ‘conventional’ supercomputer.
Dr Gaurav Khanna’s article explaining the Gravity Grid (instructions on Linux installations included)
[Via southcoasttoday]
More articles on the ‘Gravity Grid’
NZ Herald , Government Computer News
10. Folding@Home
Folding@Home (also known as FAH or F@H) is a distributed computer project developed by the Chemistry Department at Stanford University in America. Its aim is to “to understand protein folding, misfolding, and related diseases.” The project uses a small downloadable client that utilises unused CPU power on the user’s machine depending on the set-up that the user has specified. After the 1.6 firmware update released by Sony, users could download a 50Mb client for the PS3.
The Folding@Home client periodically connects to a server to retrieve “work units,” which are packets of data in which calculations are performed. Each completed work unit is then sent back to the server. For the PS3 the “work unit” has been optimised to take approximately 8 hours a unit “The logic behind this was to ensure the PS3 could be run only over night and still yield a useful result.”
Researchers at Stanford mention in their FAQ about the PS3 client that they have several PS3’s running in their lab 24 hours a day 7 days a week with no problems and also they estimate that the 60Gb version will run at 200 Watts and 40Gb version at 115 Watts.
Since release the client has gone through a few important updates and contains a number of useful features specifically for PS3 owners. Taken from the FAQ by the Folding@Home team.
- It is possible to navigate the 3D space of the molecule using the interactive controller of the PS3, allowing us to look at the protein from different angles in real-time.
- Support for Remote Play – the client is viewable on the PSP, with similar functionality as the PS3.
- Screen Saver mode – uses slightly less power and increases protein folding simulations.
- Automatic shut down – by selecting a time for the PS3 to turn itself off (from within the client) the program will either complete the unit or make sure that its progress has been saved.
- Background music player – the client can now play music from the HDD
Sony supports this project 100% and actively engages with the team to create better client integration with the PS3.
PS3 Statistics on 25/03/2008
PLAYSTATION®3
Current TFLOPS – 1225 of 1502
Active CPU’s – 40577
Total CPU’s – 469305
Folding@Home at Stanford University
Folding@Home PS3 FAQ at Stanford University
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That concludes a brief look at ten real life applications of the PS3. I’m sure there will be more in the future but what is clear is that there is great potential for the PS3 to become more than just a ‘traditional’ games console and Blu-ray player.
If you happen to come across any stories not featuring the PS3 used in a situation similar to those featured in the above article then please let me know in the comments.
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