The main goal of Rising STARS is to enable a parallel programming framework for the development and execution of advanced large-scale Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) with High Performance Computing (HPC) and real-time requirements. Overall, there is an urgent necessity to develop run-time parallel frameworks, compatible with HPC, capable of guaranteeing that decisions made at run-time maintains the guarantees about system correctness and timing behavior. These new run-time capabilities however, cannot preclude the ability of run-times to dynamically adapt the execution to new working conditions or changing modes of operation of CPS to maximise the utilisation and performance capabilities of parallel heterogeneous architectures. A key element of the Rising STARS framework will be the incorporation of a unified, efficient and highly configurable data acquisition strategy fully integrated in the parallel programming models with the objective of improving productivity in CPS software development. Exposing the data-acquisition to the programmer (by including it into the parallel programming model) is also key to overlap data-transfers with computation. Another objective of the project is to add this capability in existing programming models for HPC and to investigate new parallel programming extensions to allow developers to define the real-time properties of the system in terms of periodicity and timing constraints. Finally, one of our main objectives is to implement several demonstration platforms to promote the main technological developments of this R&I action and their performance under realistic conditions, including Adaptive Optics for giant telescopes and SSA experiments, data processsing for SKA, and critical real-time embedded systems.

The development of high quality products and processes is essential for the future competitiveness of the European economy. In most key technology areas product development is increasingly based on simulation and optimization via mathematical models that allow to optimize design and functionality using free design parameters. Best performance of modelling, simulation and optimization (MSO) techniques is obtained by using a model hierarchy ranging from very fine to very coarse models obtained by model order reduction (MOR) techniques and to adapt the model and the methods to the user-defined requirements in accuracy and computational speed. ROMSOC will work towards this goal for high dimensional and coupled systems that describe different physical phenomena on different scales; it will derive a common framework for different industrial applications and train the next generation of researchers in this highly interdisciplinary field. It will focus on the three major methodologies: coupling methods, model reduction methods, and optimization methods, for industrial applications in well selected areas, such as optical and electronic systems, economic processes, and materials. ROMSOC will develop novel MSO techniques and associated software with adaptability to user-defined accuracy and efficiency needs in different scientific disciplines. It will transfer synergies between different industrial sectors, in particular for SMEs. To lift this common framework to a new qualitative level, a joint training programme will be developed which builds on the strengths of the academic and industrial partners and their strong history of academic/industrial cooperation. By delivering early-career training embedded in a cutting-edge research programme, ROMSOC will educate highly skilled interdisciplinary researchers in mathematical MSO that will become facilitators in the transfer of innovative concepts to industry. It will thus enhance the capacity of European research and development.

The main goal of Green Flash is to design and build a prototype for a Real-Time Controller (RTC) targeting the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) Adaptive Optics (AO) instrumentation. The E-ELT is a 39m diameter telescope to see first light in the early 2020s. To build this critical component of the telescope operations, the astronomical community is facing technical challenges, emerging from the combination of high data transfer bandwidth, low latency and high throughput requirements, similar to the identified critical barriers on the road to Exascale. With Green Flash, we will propose technical solutions, assess these enabling technologies through prototyping and assemble a full scale demonstrator to be validated with a simulator and tested on sky. With this R&D program we aim at feeding the E-ELT AO systems preliminary design studies, led by the selected first-light instruments consortia, with technological validations supporting the designs of their RTC modules. Our strategy is based on a strong interaction between academic and industrial partners. Components specifications and system requirements are derived from the AO application. Industrial partners lead the development of enabling technologies aiming at innovative tailored solutions with potential wide application range. The academic partners provide the missing links in the ecosystem, targeting their application with mainstream solutions. This increases both the value and market opportunities of the developed products. A prototype harboring all the features is used to assess the performance. It also provides the proof of concept for a resilient modular solution to equip a large scale European scientific facility, while containing the development cost by providing opportunities for return on investment.