Real-time control of Extremely Large Telescope mirror systems using on-line high performance computing

Many Big Physics applications require an enormous amount of computational power to solve large problems with demanding real-time constraints. Typically, a large number of data channels acquired in real-time feed mathematical routines that generate outputs that act on real-world processes. The number of sensor and actuator channels can be in the 100–100,000 range, and the mathematical routines can be as sophisticated as real-time solving of non-linear partial differential equations. The time constraints are often in the 1 ms range, or faster, per cycle.