AI supercomputer deployed in Singapore
Singapore Management University (SMU) has become the first organisation in Southeast Asia to deploy the DGX-1 deep learning supercomputer from AI computing company NVIDIA. Deployed at the SMU Living Analytics Research Center (LARC), the supercomputer will further research on applying artificial intelligence for Singapore’s Smart Nation project — an initiative to create a conducive environment so people and companies can take full advantage of the digital revolution.
The NVIDIA DGX-1 is claimed to be the world’s first deep learning supercomputer to meet the computing demands of AI, enabling researchers and data scientists to harness the power of GPU-accelerated computing to create computers that learn, see and perceive the world as humans do. Providing throughput equivalent to 250 conventional servers in a single box, the supercomputer delivers high levels of computing power to drive next-generation AI applications, allowing researchers to reduce the time to train larger, more sophisticated deep neural networks.
One of the Smart Nation projects is a food AI application to achieve smart food consumption and healthy lifestyle, which requires the analysis of a large number of food photos. According to Professor Steven Hoi, from the SMU School of Information Systems, “Food photo recognition is not possible without the DGX-1 solution, which applies cutting-edge deep learning technologies and yields excellent recognition accuracy.”
The first phase of the food AI project is able to recognise 100 of the most popular local dishes in Singapore; the second is to expand the current food database to about 1000 popular dishes. The team will also analyse food data in supermarkets to help with the recommendation of healthy food options. Once developed, the AI will be made available to developers for them to build smart food consumption solutions.
“The NVIDIA DGX-1 will give SMU researchers the performance and deep learning capabilities needed to work on their Smart Nation projects, which will further advance Singapore’s aspirations,” said Raymond Teh, vice president of sales and marketing for Asia Pacific, NVIDIA.
3D semiconductor chip alignment boosts performance
Researchers have developed an ultra-precise method to align 3D semiconductor chips using lasers...
Researchers achieve 8 W output from optical parametric oscillator
Researchers have demonstrated a total output power of 8 W from a high-power mid-infrared cadmium...
"Dualtronic" chip for integrated electronics and photonics
Cornell researchers have developed a dual-sided chip known as a "dualtronic" chip that...
