	Published during IST 98 in Vienna

Special issue with an update on results from European R&D projects
November - December 1998

Each year hundreds of European R&D projects produce important results. In this special issue, co-published by the magazines Primeur and VMW, we give an update from a number of projects in the HPCN and medical sectors that were supported within the Esprit or Telematics programmes from the European Commission.

This issue is published in conjunction with the large IST 1998 event (the former Esprit/Telematics conference) in Vienna.

Next issues are planned in April during ITIS99 (at HPCN Europe) and in November at IST 99 in Helsinki. When you want your project results in one of those issues, please contact the editors of Primeur magazine or Virtual Medical Worlds magazine.

Technology transfer

HPCN in action: TTNs make the invisible visible

Monitoring the heart, building bridges, restoring fainting old movies, repairing knee injuries: what do they have in common? Progress has been made recently in all these areas due to HPCN technology. HPCN involves the usage of computers for the purpose they were designed for originally: to compute. Today's state-of-the-art in computing, goes several orders of magnitudes beyond what is possible with even the newest PC: It involves using many computers - processors - for solving one problem, a technique called parallel processing. To demonstrate this technique is mature enough to be used in many applications in many industrial sectors, the European Commission has formed a network of Technology Transfer Nodes (TTNs) all across Europe managing over 175 different projects that implement HPCN technology in applications affecting day-to-day-life of businesses and consumers. With the TTNs now functioning for over a year, the first results become visible today, for those who look for it. HPCN is like the air we breath: it is everywhere around us, but not visible at first glance.

TTN network web site renewed

The web site of the Technology Transfer Network (TTNs) has been renewed. After being one year in existence, the TTNs that apply HPCN technology in industry have results in a number of industry sectors to show. Administering in total 175 projects, many more will follow in the coming two years. The new web site illustrates this with placing two success stories on the front page that will be renewed regularly. The first two deal with improvements in aluminium packaging from Spain, and with better baking biscuits from Finland. These are, however, not the only success stories of the TTN network.

Medical

Parallel computed virtual heart models form upgrade for existing angiographic equipment

Detailed 3D reconstruction of a patient's heart geometry allows the physician to accurately diagnose any serious failure within the cardiac structure. At present, the production of a complete 3D data set takes the cardiologist about 1 to 2 hours of manual measurement. The objective of the Esprit funded 3D HeartView project is to implement an advanced method of 3D image processing based on 2D angiography sequences with minimal user intervention. In order to speed up the procedure for routine clinical use, the system is ported on a high performance parallel hardware platform to form a powerful add-on for the digital angiographer. The project partners are eager to prove to the major suppliers of angiography devices that the 3D HeartView accelerator offers valuable improvement for medical problems and as such is bound to open new markets.

Parsemed algorithms reconstruct ultrasound scans to 3D images in no time

In the Western countries as well as in Japan, the acquisition of 2D images by means of sonography has become a very popular imaging modality for clinical diagnosis. Yet, specialists in the medical fields of gynaecology, obstetrics, cardiology and radiology have an urgent need for more accurate visualization tools, provided by 3D systems. Unfortunately, current 3D applications require too much computational effort to be performed in real time. The use of open and cost effective high performance computing and networking (HPCN) techniques constitute a realistic solution to this problem. ProHPC, the French division within the Technology Transfer Nodes (TTN), has set up the Parsemed-3D project to demonstrate the value of a real time 3D reconstruction system for optimized medical diagnosis.

Distributed PHASE server for drug target discovery at supercomputing speed

Metacomputing environments constitute a vital service which is much sought after in the pharmaceutical industry to enhance both the scope and speed of the drug target discovery process. The Paderborn Center for Parallel Computing co-ordinates a team of scientific researchers and industrial end-users in PHASE, a two-year Esprit funded project which started in February 1997, to develop a distributed high-performance application server for the execution of compute-intensive bio-informatic codes through Inter- and/or Intranet connections. The identification of new proteins requires much less time when integrated in a job load balancing scheme in which the available computational resources are assigned to the various partitions of the task. The server architecture is also very suitable for other than pharmaceutical implementations and supports a multi-level built-in security to protect the user's privacy.

Intelligent search engine CIPRESS to retrieve medical information through association

Frequent users of large databases and retrieval systems know that the search for relevant information can be very time-consuming, not only because enormous quantities of data are stored everyday but also because the maintenance of logic and hierarchical relationships between the data is a far from evident task. In March 1998, five partners have started a two year Esprit funded project to tackle the problem of effective information retrieval from medical databases by parallelizing the process through the use of a scalable High Performance Architecture (HPA). The team has the strong ambition to develop a metacomputing search machine, described in clear terms as CIPRESS, a Complex Information Patterns Retrieval with a parallel distributed processing knowledge Engine Search System.

Media

Challenging Hollywood hegemony with European HPCN techniques

Computer generated special effects in film and video production cost less than traditional methods for complex effects. Traditionally, this is the domain where Hollywood reigns. New HPCN techniques now make the computer power needed to generate special effects affordable for small production companies of which there are many in Europe. A European Commission sponsored project, called VIDEOGRAPH shows some astonishing results in this areas. A high-resolution 10 second standard film clip, that takes nearly 6 days to compute on the high-end machines that are currently used in the computer graphic industry, now only takes 9 hours to produce on a special designed Cycore computer.

EROPPA automates rendering process for media animation industry

In the Digital Content Creation Industry, as for instance for Post Production Companies rendering is a time consuming process. Rendering takes a lot of computing resources, and a lot of human resources for managing the process. EROPPA takes the burden of managing computing resources away from the animators and creative artists. EROPPA makes very efficient utilisation of available resources, be it in-house or at a remote computing site, possible. Hence companies can finish more projects in a given amount of time and at a lower cost.

Scriabin's "Poem of Fire" visualized in 3D digital colour space

"Dem Licht entgegen" formed the inner breath in the life and work of the Russian composer, Alexander Scriabin. In 1911, his fifth and last symphony was created in Moscow as a magical synaesthetic game between colour and music. Blessed with the spiritual gift to associate the specific tones of a chord with a particular colour, Scriabin provided a unique part for light-organ in Prometheus, Poem of Fire . The mystical interaction between the listening spectators and the white-dressed orchestra bathing in an ocean of colours could barely be realized at a time in which the light was born out of a simple plank with twelve coloured light bulbs. The modern art of virtual video and high performance computing techniques has roused Prometheus once and for all as the bringer of light. The Dutch visual artist Peter Struycken has been inspired by Scriabin's work to design a complex 3D digital colour space. In turn, director Frank Alsema created a virtual fantasy in which both computer and video art have been fused into a fascinating universe of whirling coloured particles in which the choir, pianist and orchestra are looming up as floating white mysteries.

Engineering and simulation

Aerospace engineers run simulation tests over ISDN network to visualize and discuss experiments

Intensive interchange of concept design information, test results, and task distribution on an international basis between industrial aerospace companies, universities and aerospace research institutes still happens via phone calls, fax and mail transmissions, or physical meetings. In order to reduce time consuming, expensive travels and to organize work practices in a efficient way, the Spanish aerospace leader Casa has launched the Esprit funded ACATAD project within the CEPBA-TTN division for the development of advanced communications and computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) tools. Together with four other partners, Casa will perform three experiments of tele-testing and mechanical analysis to assess the impact of ISDN networked communication on the time- and cost-related aspects of commercial product design.

Dynamite runs supercomputer applications on your work station cluster without you even noticing it

Do you run your computing problems still in two dimensions because it would need a supercomputer to do it in 3-D? Do you know computer simulations that could help you, but you cannot afford the computers to run them on? Look around in your office. When you have a number of works stations around there, you already have your supercomputer: Dynamite turns the available computing power into one big parallel machine that can work on a large problem. Dynamite does this, the way you want it. It only uses power not used in some other way, quickly migrating from a machine when one of your designers needs it and it is the only software that dynamically redistributes the work over the machines when your application requires this. When you are an application provider, you can build Dynamite into your application providing your customers with supercomputer performance on their workstations.

Turning a cluster of Windows NT machines into a parallel supercomputer

A whole generation of engineers is growing up with knowledge from Windows NT. Also NT based computers are entering the computing arena, replacing Unix based workstations. When supercomputer type of performance was needed, there was no other alternative than to turn to Unix. Not so any more. In the European project WINPAR tools for parallel processing are ported to the Windows NT environment. With these tools, a cluster of NT machines can be turned into parallel supercomputers as powerful as their Unix counterparts. A first product, a commercial version of WMPI, implementing the standard message passing interface has recently hit the market. And how, declared best in functionality and performance by an independent report.

Advanced High Performance Optimization tools support car and other industrial product design

Industrial design engineers basically face two challenges. Due to the extremely short time frame in which the concept design has to take place, they are forced to make essential decisions with regard to both the final product performance and manufacturing costs, already in the early stages of a product design. Second, the consumer's demand for lightweight structures compels them to avoid overdesign in order to save material and time in the design-build-test scenario. To tackle these complex issues, the Esprit funded HIPOP (High Performance Optimization) project has been set up CAOSS, an optimization software programme developed by FE-Design in Karlsruhe, for complete integration into MSC/NASTRAN, which is used as the analysis engine. This software is marketed under the new name of MSC/CONSTRUCT by the Los Angeles based MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation (MSC) in its world-wide distributor network.

Validating spacecraft docking to the International Space Station through distributed simulation over an ATM network

The French experts from Aérospatiale are co-operating with the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) and the Rechenzentrum Universität Stuttgart (RUS) in an Esprit funded project for space systems' validation. This kind of task has to be performed through shared and complex simulation between geographically dispersed aerospace centre facilities. The use of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology, which is available via the current European networking infrastructure, has allowed the project partners to successfully demonstrate the potential of distributed simulation with hardware in the loop for a specific validation mission, consisting in the docking of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) spacecraft with the International Space Station (ISS). This new approach holds in store a faster and cost-saving integration of space systems thanks to a more efficient use of functional simulation facilities.

Design and traffic

A virtual walk through your newly furnished room

Exciting projects can have boring names. Who can imagine that behind the acronym Esprit TTN PST PHPC-MOB3B, a development takes place that can affect the way we furnish our houses? The aim of the project is to allow retailers to let their clients lay-out their new furniture in their room in Virtual Reality. This gives them an impression of what it will look like when they really buy it. The database and compute server that is needed to do this, is available over the Internet. Well hidden for the client and the retailer is some clever HPCN code crunching its way into producing the nice pictures very fast on-screen.

EPOCH parallel computing facilitates optimum product design

Industrial developers are facing a tremendous challenge to achieve the optimum design for products with regard to the ever increasing demands towards their electromagnetic features. Since January 1997, Vector Fields Ltd, a company specialised in software for electromagnetic design, is co-ordinating a two year Esprit funded project to offer full 2D and even 3D optimisation facilities on high performance computing and networking (HPCN) equipment to the industry. Partners such as Moulinex, Philips, and Ansaldo Energia will benefit as end-users from the EPOCH project results. Products including microwave ovens, Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT) for X-rays and TVs, thin film recording heads for videorecorders, bending magnets, permanent magnet brushless electric motors, and train brake systems are among the first applications to validate the design optimisation environment.

HPCN techniques capture traffic and air pollution simulation in user-friendly 3D visualization

The development of adequate models for traffic management and control constitutes a tremendous challenge for most of the national and international governing bodies. Yet, it forms an essential step in bringing down transportation-related air pollution to an acceptable level. The Esprit funded SIMTRAP project offers an integrated system over a distributed high performance computing network in order to fuse the complex simulations of both dynamic traffic patterns and detailed air pollution measurements into a 3D geographical information system (GIS) as a visualization and decision support tool for medium term planning. The project partners have commercialized the Simulation of Traffic and Air Pollution (SIMTRAP) computational model into the Traffic and Air Quality Simulation (TRAQS) to assist the urban authorities in their aim to find more effective and healthier solutions to transportation issues. SIMTRAP will prove the value of the parallelization effort to compute traffic models in a relatively short time frame at four demonstration sites in Berlin, Maastricht, Milan, and Vienna.