Japan eyes best supercomputer

The international supercomputer race may soon have a new contender: Japan is reportedly eyeing the world's fastest-ever machine. Reuters this week revealed the country's plans to spend ¥19.5 billion ($173 million) on the construction of a machine capable of making 130 quadrillion calculations per second--or 130 petaflops. For comparison, the world's current top-ranking supercomputers--Sunway TaihuLight (China), Tianhe-2 (China, pictured), Titan Cray XK7 (US)--boast Linpack marks of 93 petaflops, 34 petaflops, and 24 petaflops, respectively. In an attempt to win back the industry crown and keep jobs in Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will spend billions to construct the most nimble supercomputer in history. The machine's processing power will be available for a fee to organizations focused on driverless cars, robotics, and medical diagnostics.