Joe Sventek
Computer scientists at the University of Glasgow have started work on three new projects which aim to unlock the potential of cutting-edge computer processors and could contribute to applications including more accurate weather predictions and improved robot explorers. The projects have received more than £3m in funding from the Engineering and Physical Research Council's (EPSRC) System Approaches to Distributed and Embedded Architectures (SADEA) project. Across the UK, a total of five SADEA projects will develop new software to help unlock the full potential of manycore computers. Until recently, advances in computing power relied on increases in processor clock speeds, which allowed more computations per second. However, the physical limitations of silicon manufacturing led to a gradual plateauing of clock speeds. To get around the problem, processor manufacturers began to place multiple processing cores on the same silicon wafer. These 'multicore' systems are now commonplace in devices including laptop computers, tablet PCs and mobile phones.
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