P.M. BRIEFING : Fujitsu Touts Faster Computer

Fujitsu Ltd. said today it has developed a “super neural computer” with processing speeds several hundred times faster than that of models on the market.

A prototype built by Fujitsu Laboratories links 256 digital signal processors in parallel to achieve processing speeds of 500 million connection updates per second, a company spokesman said.

This is several hundred times faster than models sold by U.S. companies and about 2,000 times quicker than neural network simulations run on engineering workstations, he said.

Neural networks simulate the workings of the brain, which through its network of interconnected neurons and synapses is capable of processing tremendous quantities of data and performing many tasks simultaneously.

No date has been set for commercializing the Fujitsu system.