A systolic array is a type of parallel computer architecture that uses a large number of processors simultaneously to achieve a high flow of data through the system, and provide a fast stream of outputted results. Systolic arrays are best suited for repetitive tasks with a high degree of regularity, but can cope with large numbers of computations. While such arrays have generally been limited to supercomputers, as computer technology progresses they are likely to have much broader usage.

Systolic arrays are a development of the pipelining approach to processor design and architecture. Pipelining works in much the same way as an actual pipeline, or an assembly production line. Data is fed into a linked chain of processors, and moves through each processor in the pipe, until it is outputted at the other end. A single step in the computation is carried out at each processor...