This archive report was first published on 23 June 2020.
June 23, 2020 - The world's fastest supercomputer, Japan's Fugaku, has been put to work in the fight against the coronavirus.
Developed by Japanese technology firm Fujitsu and the government-backed Riken Institute over six years, Fugaku has already begun simulating how droplets spread in office spaces and packed trains, providing valuable insights in the battle against the virus.
When fully operational next year, experts hope the machine will aid in narrowing down the search for effective treatments for the virus.
Located in Kobe, Fugaku's performance was measured at 415.53 petaflops, 2.8 times faster than second-place Summit's 148.6 petaflops.
According to Satoshi Matsuoka, head of Riken's Center for Computational Science, 'I hope that the leading-edge IT developed for it will contribute to major advances on difficult social challenges such as Covid-19.'
