Putting the petascale to work in visualization

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Randall at VizWorld.com reported yesterday on an experiment to visualize seismic data sets at the highest possible fidelity. From his post

Combining the Mare Nostrum supercomputer with Cell Processors (just like the PS3 or the RoadRunner) to create the “Kaleidoscope Project”.

The Kaleidoscope Project encompasses a simultaneous innovation of hardware and software to achieve a petascale solution to seismic imaging using off-the-shelf technology. Software research focuses on the quality of algorithms and avoids shortcuts or tradeoffs common because of lack of computing power. Kaleidoscope is to ensure the maximum possible imaging quality regardless of the computer power required. And of course speed and power, which are the two main factors for the project to succeed, are guaranteed while ensuring low cost because it’s coming from a massive market.