Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management
    • Networking

    IBM Looks to the Final Frontier

    By
    Scott Ferguson
    -
    December 6, 2006
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      IBM is helping a European astronomy research firm look to the stars.

      The Armonk, N.Y., company announced Dec. 6 that it is entering into an agreement with ASTRON, the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy, which offers observation facilities for astronomers in the Netherlands.

      As its part of the agreement, IBM will begin to develop high-performance, low-power customized chips that will be used in thousands of antennas as part of ASTRONs project to build a radio telescope, which will be called the SKADS/EMBRACE. The telescope will be the precursor to what will eventually become the worlds largest radio telescope, the SKA (Square Kilometre Array).

      The ultimate goal of the prototype telescope, and eventually of the SKA radio telescope, is to allow astronomers to peer deep into space and look the phenomena of evolving galaxies and dark matter—matter that does not emit or reflect enough electromagnetic radiation to be detected directly—that may date back more than 13 billion years, according to the joint statement by IBM and ASTRON.

      These soon-to-be designed chips will be deployed in pilot antenna tiles and will assist in filtering information from radio signals. The customized chips will use IBMs SiGe (silicon germanium) technology and will combine analog radio frequency circuits, which help reduce noise and power consumption and lower the cost per unit. The chips will have a typical peak frequency of 200GHz and will based on 0.13 micron design rules.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifClick here to read about NASAs recently announced plans for a moon base.

      Due to the scale of the project and the number of antennas that will be used, Jan Blommaart, an IBM consultant working with ASTRON in the Netherlands, said that the SiGe technology is critical in developing the chips.

      “What you have is an omnidirectional [radio telescope] that looks at all angles and in order to do that, you have an enormous number of these antennas and the total number of components goes up dramatically,” Blommaart said. “In order to build this telescope, you will need a low-cost unit and chips that consume very little power.”

      In addition, since the antennas are turned to pick up faint signals from the deepest regions of space, the chip must produce as little noise as possible so that astronomers can record true readings. The SiGe technology, Blommaart said, will help in that part of the design as well.

      The SKA will eventually have “millions of antennas collecting radio signals, forming the equivalent of a [one-square-kilometer] collecting area, and spread over a huge surface area,” the announcement said. The design of the massive radio telescope is expected in 2008, as is the announced decision of whether it will be built in Australia or South Africa, and it is scheduled to go into use in 2020.

      IBM and ASTRON first started collaborating on the design in October. IBM will deliver the first chip designs and prototypes in the first half of 2007, and the second set of designs and prototypes will come by the end of 2007, the company said in a statement.

      IBM already has a working relationship with ASTRON: Blue Gene, IBMs supercomputer, is being used to gather and analyze information from ASTRONs LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) software telescope network in the Netherlands.

      Engineers from ASTRON will work with their IBM counterparts at the companys Burlington, Vt., facility. The financial agreement between the IBM and ASTRON was not disclosed.

      Editors Note: This story was updated to include information and comments from IBM consultant Jan Blommaart.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, views and analysis on servers, switches and networking protocols for the enterprise and small businesses.

      Scott Ferguson

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×