Cool Parallella Kickstarter Updates

This is a follow up post in via cheater cheater:

"I just wanted to let you know that the Parallella kickstarter which I wrote to you about last month (http://m.matrixsynth.com/2012/09/parallella-supercomputer-for-everyone.html) is going strong. The project has broken 50% of the required goal; with 10 days to go it just might work out. There have been a lot of updates, and they showed some DSP demos, which directly apply to performance in music applications:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adapteva/parallella-a-supercomputer-for-everyone/posts?page=2

Demo #1: Using a Scalable Parallel 2D FFT for Image Enhancement
http://www.adapteva.com/white-papers/using-a-scalable-parallel-2d-fft-for-image-enhancement/
- FFT, that's reverb, equalizers and cabinet simulators for you! This demo uses the much more computationally intensive two-dimensional FFT for images.

Demo #2: Scalable Parallel Multiplication of Big Matrices
http://www.adapteva.com/white-papers/scalable-parallel-multiplication-of-big-matrices/
- matrix multiplication is a staple in many advanced DSP techniques. Among others, analog component modeling can be implemented with it (think Virtual Analog synths the kinds of FXPansion's Synth Squad/ D-CAM, Arturia, or the u-he Zebra/ACE/Diva)

Demo #3: Approaching Peak Theoretical Performance with Standard C
http://www.adapteva.com/white-papers/approaching-peak-theoretical-performance-with-standard-c/
- what this says is that, MHz for MHz, nothing can be faster than the Parallella. It's fairly amazing given that, when comparing clock speeds, the thing is about 5x faster than desktop CPUs.

There are also new pledge rewards and pledge levels. A lot of comments have been posted and the discussion is very lively: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adapteva/parallella-a-supercomputer-for-everyone/comments

It looks like the project is on the verge of getting funded - but it'll need any bit of help - so if anyone reading this is interested in the project, consider backing it!"

Parallella: A Supercomputer For Everyone on Kickstarter

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adapteva/parallella-a-supercomputer-for-everyone
If the Kickstarter video causes your mouse to disappear, click off screen and it should come back.

Note the video and project is not directly focused on synthesis, however the application (like the iPad as a synthesis platform) should be obvious. The following is a write-up on that potential in via reader cheater:

"I'm in no way affiliated with those guys, but this thing opens so many possibilities for the synthesis aficionado that I have to let you know what's in store. Why is this cool? Simply put, it's a Kickstarter for an open platform which could enable synthesis methods that are currently not possible, unless you lug around an expensive workstation, and put them in a desktop-module style case. For those intents and purposes it's a self-contained system with a 45 GHz CPU, the size of a DVD box.

Below are some examples of synthesis methods that could work out thanks to the radically different way this thing works. Each of those is slow on current PCs and because of the parallel nature of the chip in question are tons faster to execute on it:

1. granular synthesis. Ever try to run one of those in VST? They sound better the more parts you can have. Current PCs can only run so many parts, and you need thousands per voice. This thing could easily run a polyphonic synthesizer.

Here are some demos of what you can do with a granular synthesizer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgcVr6lTzDs
http://www2.camelaudio.com/music/AlchemyAnalysisDemo02.mp3
http://www2.camelaudio.com/music/Alchemy-PresetDemo-JohnLehmkuhl.mp3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTODhn-UROc

See how Alchemy only allows 10 grains per voice? You could have an order of magnitude more, with each grain bank (Alchemy has 10) modulated separately.

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