WHAT’S BUZZING
HP Enterprise to build supercomputer for National Supercomputing Centre
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has been awarded a $40 million deal to build a new supercomputer for the National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore.
Powered by HPE Cray EX supercomputer, the new system will provide up to 10 Petaflops of computing capacity and be eight times faster than NSCC’s existing pool of high-performance computing (HPC) resources when it is operational in early 2022.
It will help expand and augment ongoing research efforts by enabling tools, such as AI and deep machine learning, to optimise modelling and simulation. NSCC will use the supercomputer to enable more breakthroughs across various fields — including healthcare, climate and engineering — at national and global levels.
NSCC is the national HPC resource centre dedicated to supporting the science and engineering computing needs of academic, research and industry communities.
“Supercomputers have proven their value to the Singapore research community in many ways. Examples include simulating the dispersion of Covid-19 droplets to mitigate spread, helping urban planners develop our most advanced townships as well as advancing weather and climate monitoring research,” says Peter Ho, chairman of NSCC’s Steering Committee.
“The upgrading of the supercomputer resources is another milestone in Singapore’s research roadmap and will provide the necessary HPC resources that will allow Singapore scientists to unlock even greater research potential,” Ho adds.
Funding for NSCC’s new supercomputer comes as part of a $200 million investment that the Singapore government announced in March 2019 to boost the country’s HPC resources.
SEE:Singtel, Surbana Jurong forge strategic alliance to boost smart city transformation
Singtel forges ahead with 5G
Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) has begun its push for 5G as it deploys hundreds of 5G Standalone (SA) sites across Singapore.
Located in Orchard Road, the CBD, Harbourfront and Sentosa, the 5G SA sites run on 3.5GHz spectrum. The telco has also upgraded its 5G radio access network with advanced radio technologies to connect to a cloud-native standalone 5G core network, enabling it to run 5G independently. All of these efforts will enable the telco to deliver ultra-fast speeds and swifter response times to customers.
Singtel will intensify its 5G SA deployment across the island in the coming months, as handset manufacturers progressively roll out 5G SA software updates for existing 5G handsets and launch more 5G SA-compatible models in Singapore later this year.
To further accelerate 5G adoption among enterprises, Singtel launched a portable 5G platform called Genie in April. With Genie, Singapore enterprises can conduct 5G trials even if they do not yet have a 5G network.
Genie creates an independent 5G network at any location where it is deployed, allowing enterprises to host, deploy and connect their 5G apps without relying on an external network like the Internet. The telco says this mitigates the leakage of sensitive information, enhances data security and maintains data integrity.
Genie is designed to work with Singtel 5G Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC) infrastructure to test ultra-low latency applications indoors. Enterprises can work with Singtel’s ecosystem partners to test Industry 4.0 applications such as autonomous robots in a smart factory; augmented, virtual or mixed reality; drones; and holographic projection. With the completion of successful trials, enterprises can quickly deploy the applications on Singtel’s 5G MEC.
IN PICTURE
Toyota is constructing a sensor-laden “Woven City” at the foot of Mount Fuji, which is expected to be ready in 2024. The city will serve as a “living laboratory”, wherein Toyota will test autonomous vehicles for transport, deliveries and mobile shops alongside the city’s hand-picked residents.
Sensors and cameras on roads, traffic lights, buildings — and perhaps from mobile phones — will be used to gather information on everything from pedestrian traffic to precipitation. The data will then be processed via optical networks, data centres and the cloud before the information is fed to cars, letting them navigate safely without human intervention.
The city will also feature smart homes that take out trash and restock refrigerators automatically. The entire ecosystem will be powered by hydrogen.
DIGITIONARY
Disinformation, or more commonly known as fake news, refers to false information deliberately created to harm a person, organisation or country.
The rise of disinformation is mostly propelled by social media, which is designed to encourage people to share information and content quickly. Case in point: False news stories are 70% more likely to be retweeted than true stories, revealed a 2018 Massachusetts Institute of Technology report.
One way of countering disinformation is through education. For instance, Associate Professors Darren Linvill and Patrick Warren of Clemson University in the US designed the “Spot the Troll” quiz to help the public learn the markers of unreliable social media accounts to stop the spread of false information. You can take the quiz at https://spotthetroll.org.
DIGITAL LIFE
Be it direct or indirect, Covid-19 has no doubt impacted our mental health. Many of us are feeling a sense of stagnation and emptiness — and this is called “languishing”.
“You don’t have symptoms of mental illness, but you’re not the picture of mental health either. You’re not functioning at full capacity. Languishing dulls your motivation, disrupts your ability to focus, and triples the odds that you’ll cut back on work,” explains Adam Grant, organisational psychologist at The Wharton School, in a recent article in The New York Times.
Here are two apps that could help you transcend languishing:
GoalKeepin
GoalKeepin aims to help you gain greater satisfaction and meaning in attaining your goals on both personal and professional levels, which could help build the momentum to chase bigger goals in future.
You can set achievable goals through a variety of challenges, including personal finance, fitness and health, through the mobile app. Thereafter, a minimum deposit of $10 is needed to lock in your commitment, but this will be reimbursed once you have achieved at least 85% of your goals in a set timeframe.
Wysa
Wysa is an AI-based emotionally intelligent chatbot that provides mental health self-care support. It uses natural language understanding to understand voice and text input, before guiding you through personalised therapeutic techniques based on clinical evidence.
Wysa also provides access to meditation, breathing, yoga, motivational conversations and exercises to help you build mental resilience skills and feel better. It is available for free on mindline.sg, a Singapore-developed stress management and coping website.
