MIT Apps Made Supercomputing Possible on Android Phone

Some people call Nexus One a superphone. Suddenly, the name has taken different level of meaning. A team of scientists from MIT had a brainstorming session to develop an innovative Android application that can come close to solving complex computational problems in just a fraction of the time that it’d take a genuine supercomputer. The application is designed to let engineers perform complicated calculations in the field, and better control systems for vehicles or robotic systems.

First, the researchers performed a complex series of calculations on the Ranger supercomputer. Only a supercomputer can handle such a complex calculations. Then they generated a reduced model of the results. They turned that model into an Android app, uploaded it on a Nexus One, and then were able to adjust the parameters of the complex data set and see the results in seconds from anywhere.

The team thinks this type of system is going to have real world applications, such as landmine detection, architectural modeling, or performance optimization for cars or planes. One researcher suggested that the reduced model app can receive input data from sensors and dictate small optimizations, say to an aircraft’s ailerons or flaps, on the fly.