The emergence of heterogeneous high performance computing (HHPC) systems and the increase in processing capability that these systems enable has made it increasingly advantageous to use them in field situations. The computational power, the decreased size, and the focus on reduced power consumption enables the integration of CPUs and accelerators (GPUs, FPGAs, solid state devices) into small systems with enough compute capability to execute critical military applications in the field, in real or near-real time.
To determine the appropriate architecture of a field-deployable HHPC, constraints in terms of power, execution time, accuracy, size, and weight must be considered. Since many military-related applications depend on real-rime production of results, operating system performance in terms of both execution time and power is also important.

AHPCRC researchers at NMSU are investigating the capability of these systems and how they can be used in field-deployable systems to accomplish key Army-relevant tasks. They will study the trade-offs with respect to execution time, power, size, weight, and precision in field-deployable HHPC systems. They will begin by examining the use of HHPC systems for synthetic aperture radar (SAR). However, the proposed work and the expertise gained can easily be applied to other applications of interest as they are made available.