Scientists are now using cheap NVIDIA chips to control hypersonic weapons

A team of researchers has penned a new study detailing the use of a cheap NVIDIA chip to control a hypersonic weapon.

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NVIDIA's Jetson TX2i module

The new study published in Propulsion Technology, a Chinese academic journal, details a team of researchers using a NVIDIA Jetson TX2i module to control and perform real-time optimization of the fuel supply system of a scramjet engine used in an air-breathing hypersonic missile. Notably, NVIDIA intends the Jetson TX2i module to be a low-cost solution for edge-computing, or AI. More specifically, the module contains a CPU, GPU and memory, all for a low price of just a few hundred dollars.

Additionally, the Jetson TX2i module isn't subjected to US export restrictions laid against China, which has curbed the exportation of high-end, powerful GPUs. It appears China is demonstrating that even cheap NVIDIA silicon, or any other low-cost silicon, can be used to control some of the deadliest weapons on the planet and that even if an export ban has been placed on the nation, it will find a way to create and control these weapons with chips that only cost a couple hundred dollars.

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According to the South China Morning Post, the Jetson TX2i module was capable of processing computational fluid dynamics models with great efficiency, and delivered results in just 25 milliseconds. Researchers described the Jetson TX2i module as being perfect for the project.

It should be noted that there was no suggestion that NVIDIA's Jetson TX2i module is now going to be used for military purposes. China already has domestic silicon manufacturers creating chips that are more powerful than the Jetson TX2i. This appears only to be a demonstration of capabilities by China and seemingly a snub to the US's export ban.