Until now, researchers have had to use large-scale computational resources with supercomputers to visualize their data off-line and create animated sequences. A new system -- the Modular-MPC 1/16 -- developed by Aspex Microsystems Ltd. of the United Kingdom will allow high-speed visualization of three-dimensional data at a fraction of the cost of supercomputers. The system, which claims the world's highest performance for volumetric visualization applications, is based on Aspex's fully proprietary Associative String Processor and Modular Massively Parallel Computing technologies. It achieves 10 frames-per-second performance when rendering three-dimensional volumes of 16 million data elements, delivering sustainable computational rates in excess of 25 billion operations per second. "The Aspex technology can deliver the supercomputer performance required by current and future digital processing applications without the high price tag," said ONR sponsor Dr. Clifford Lau. "With the delivery of the Modular-MPC 1/16 to the Naval Research Laboratory, Aspex has demonstrated that its technology can meet the most demanding application and user requirements." The Naval Research Lab will use the system to study computational fluid dynamics used in developing underwater systems and other complex, three-dimensional visualizations.