RSS Feeds

Email a Friend Printer Friendly

UK`s first `super internet` to launch in the summer

April 18, 2002

A massive multi-million pound computation grid system has been developed by three universities in Yorkshire.

The White Rose Computational Grid (WRCG) - believed to be the first of its kind in the UK - will provide a high performance computing service for researchers in the White Rose Consortium universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York.

The WRCG has been developed at a cost of £2.8 million, with £400,000 backing from the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, and is set to go live this summer.

The purpose of a computational grid is to connect people working on the same projects who are based in different locations. Just as an electricity grid connects all sources of electricity, the grid - described as a `super internet` - connects all users accessing the same research information.

The grid will enable researchers in mathematics, natural sciences, earth and environmental sciences and engineering to pool resources and knowledge. Researchers in bio-informatics and bio-medical sciences as well as computer science and informatics will also be able to make use of the system.

Its developers also believe that this new system will revolutionise processes in other areas such as medicine and manufacturing.

Chair of the WRCG Consortium, Professor Peter Dew said
"The grid has massive computational power which is well beyond the capability of a single White Rose university. It offers a novel, cost-effective computing environment to enable more effective sharing resources, knowledge and experiences in order to develop a wide portfolio of internationally important new projects.It really is an exciting and quite unique project which paves the way for the next generation of Internet computing. We have ambitions to take our grid further afield, joining the e-Science grid and international grids to spread the benefits across the world."

Industry benefits

The £3 million DAME project, led by Professor Jim Austin of the University of York, highlights how the grid can work within industry.

DAME (`Distributed Aircraft Maintenance Environment`) is a collaboration between Rolls-Royce plc and its information system partner Data Systems and Solutions and Cybula Limited.

The project will allow maintenance engineers to access aeroengine data held in computers distributed around the world quickly and efficiently. The availability of this information will make diagnosis of engine maintenance problems far quicker than at present, and engineers will be also able to predict faults before they occur.

Professor Austin said:

"The computational grid will enable researchers to access information that is scattered around the world, to solve problems and analyse a given situation.

For example, aircraft flight data will be downloaded and run through the computational grid`s system. Subtle features about engine performance could be unearthed at this stage, enabling more accurate maintenance planning in the short term and in the longer term across an aircraft fleet."

The University of Sheffield`s Professor Peter Fleming, also involved in the DAME project added,
"Eventually, such information about the whole of the world`s civil aircraft could be accessed from the computational grid. It`s also intended to apply the sophisticated methods we use for the DAME system in other sectors, such as the automobile industry, and for medical applications - for example monitoring the effects of new medical treatments and for drug development. It really is a very exciting project."

Martin Doxey, Chief Executive of the White Rose Consortium, said:
"This pioneering project will certainly put the region in the spotlight. Grid computing is an area that`s developing rapidly and I`m proud to say that the White Rose universities are at the forefront."

"The Grid also has great relevance for the region`s economy. The fact that we can offer access to this massive amount of pooled research information will be an attractive research and development resource for businesses in many sectors." he added.
                                                                                        
The Consortium hopes to extend the system to other universities after the first year of operation.

White Rose University Consortium