Intel’s “terascale” supercomputer on a chip is one of Intel’s first steps toward massively multicore (multiprocessor) technology.

The goal: test techniques that could make massively multicore technology faster, more energy efficient, and easy to program. These techniques will be “funneled into future products” that could appear within five to ten years.

Intel thinks that recognition, mining, and synthesis (RMS) applications will be key. These technologies could allow for real-time language translation via cell phones, real-time video search by spoken phrase or image, and better recommendation systems for shopping, meal planning, and even health care.