Tech war: how Chinese scientists rigged a low-cost AI computer chip to power a hypersonic weapon
- Using a Nvidia module widely available online, Chinese researchers overcome significant obstacles to boost performance of hypersonic vehicle
- Jetson TX2i chip installed in the scramjet engine control system boosted range, stability and significantly cut research and development costs
Tests have suggested that this particular module can process computational fluid dynamics models with unprecedented efficiency, meaning calculations that previously took seconds to complete could now be done in just 25 milliseconds – four times faster than the blink of an eye.
The module’s response speed made it ideal for “real-time optimisation of the fuel supply system, fault diagnosis, and fault-tolerant control in scramjet engines”, according to a joint project team from Beijing Power Machinery Research Institute and Dalian University of Technology. Their peer-reviewed paper was published on March 13 in the Chinese academic journal Propulsion Technology.
Headquartered in the United States, Nvidia is the world’s largest supplier of AI chips. Nvidia began selling the TX2i for industrial applications about six years ago. The module’s peak single-precision performance is 1.26 TFlops, about one-fiftieth of the capability of the company’s most powerful AI chip, the H100.