Supercomputer from Japan now tackling Covid-19

The world’s fastest supercomputer from Japan is now being used to tackle the global Covid-19 pandemic. Japan’s Fugaku supercomputer claimed its spot this week as a global super-computer as it has been shown to process 2.8 times more data per second than an IBM computer in the US.

Its name Fugaku is Japanese for Mount Fuji.

The computer simulates how droplets of the coronavirus would spread in office spaces with room dividers installed and also in packed trains with the windows open. Experts also hope that it will narrow down the search for an effective virus treatment when it fully rolls out next year and more data is added.

The supercomputer takes up an entire room in the town of Kobe and has taken six years to be developed by Japanese company Fujitsu and the Riken Institute.

SOURCE: BBC