Training And Design Of Vlsi Neural Networks

The early era of neural network hardware design (starting at 1985) was mainly technology driven. Designers used almost exclusively analog signal processing concepts for the recall mode. Learning was deemed not to cause a problem because the number of implementable synapses was still so low that the determination of weights and thresholds could be left to conventional computers. Instead, designers tried to directly map neural parallelity into hardware. The architectural concepts were accordingly simple and produced the so called interconnection problem which, in turn, made many engineers believe it could be solved by optical implementation in adequate fashion only. Furthermore, the inherent fault-tolerance and limited computation accuracy of neural networks were claimed to justify that little effort is to be spend on careful design, but most effort be put on technology issues. As a result, it was almost impossible to predict whether an electronic neural network would function in the way it was simulated to do. This limited the use of the first neuro-chips for further experimentation, not to mention that real-world applications called for much more synapses than could be implemented on a single chip at that time. Meanwhile matters have matured. It is recognized that isolated definition of the effort of analog multiplication, for instance, would be just as inappropriate on the part ofthe chip designer as determination of the weights by simulation, without allowing for the computing accuracy that can be achieved, on the part of the user.

Engineers have long been fascinated by how efficient and how fast biological neural networks are capable of performing such complex tasks as recognition. Such networks are capable of recognizing input data from any of the five senses with the necessary accuracy and speed to allow living creatures to survive. Machines which perform such complex tasks as recognition, with similar ac curacy and speed, were difficult to implement until the technological advances of VLSI circuits and systems in the late 1980's. Since then, the field of VLSI Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have witnessed an exponential growth and a new engineering discipline was born. Today, many engineering curriculums have included a course or more on the subject at the graduate or senior under graduate levels. Since the pioneering book by Carver Mead; "Analog VLSI and Neural Sys tems", Addison-Wesley, 1989; there were a number of excellent text and ref erence books on the subject, each dealing with one or two topics. This book attempts to present an integrated approach of a single research team to VLSI ANNs Engineering.

Provides the details of state-of-the-art machine learning methods used in VLSI Design. Discusses hardware implementation and device modeling pertaining to machine learning algorithms. Explores machine learning for various VLSI architectures and reconfigurable computing. Illustrate latest techniques for device size and feature optimization. Highlight latest case studies and reviews of the methods used for hardware implementation.

Neural network and artificial intelligence algorithrns and computing have increased not only in complexity but also in the number of applications. This in turn has posed a tremendous need for a larger computational power that conventional scalar processors may not be able to deliver efficiently. These processors are oriented towards numeric and data manipulations. Due to the neurocomputing requirements (such as non-programming and learning) and the artificial intelligence requirements (such as symbolic manipulation and knowledge representation) a different set of constraints and demands are imposed on the computer architectures/organizations for these applications. Research and development of new computer architectures and VLSI circuits for neural networks and artificial intelligence have been increased in order to meet the new performance requirements. This book presents novel approaches and trends on VLSI implementations of machines for these applications. Papers have been drawn from a number of research communities; the subjects span analog and digital VLSI design, computer design, computer architectures, neurocomputing and artificial intelligence techniques. This book has been organized into four subject areas that cover the two major categories of this book; the areas are: analog circuits for neural networks, digital implementations of neural networks, neural networks on multiprocessor systems and applications, and VLSI machines for artificial intelligence. The topics that are covered in each area are briefly introduced below.

This book provides readers with an up-to-date account of the use of machine learning frameworks, methodologies, algorithms and techniques in the context of computer-aided design (CAD) for very-large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI). Coverage includes the various machine learning methods used in lithography, physical design, yield prediction, post-silicon performance analysis, reliability and failure analysis, power and thermal analysis, analog design, logic synthesis, verification, and neuromorphic design. Provides up-to-date information on machine learning in VLSI CAD for device modeling, layout verifications, yield prediction, post-silicon validation, and reliability; Discusses the use of machine learning techniques in the context of analog and digital synthesis; Demonstrates how to formulate VLSI CAD objectives as machine learning problems and provides a comprehensive treatment of their efficient solutions; Discusses the tradeoff between the cost of collecting data and prediction accuracy and provides a methodology for using prior data to reduce cost of data collection in the design, testing and validation of both analog and digital VLSI designs. From the Foreword As the semiconductor industry embraces the rising swell of cognitive systems and edge intelligence, this book could serve as a harbinger and example of the osmosis that will exist between our cognitive structures and methods, on the one hand, and the hardware architectures and technologies that will support them, on the other....As we transition from the computing era to the cognitive one, it behooves us to remember the success story of VLSI CAD and to earnestly seek the help of the invisible hand so that our future cognitive systems are used to design more powerful cognitive systems. This book is very much aligned with this on-going transition from computing to cognition, and it is with deep pleasure that I recommend it to all those who are actively engaged in this exciting transformation. Dr. Ruchir Puri, IBM Fellow, IBM Watson CTO & Chief Architect, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center

IIZUKA '96, the 4th International Conference on Soft Computing, emphasized the integration of the components of soft computing to promote the research work on post-digital computers and to realize the intelligent systems. At the conference, new developments and results in soft computing were introduced and discussed by researchers from academic, governmental, and industrial institutions.This volume presents the opening lectures by Prof. Lotfi A. Zadeh and Prof. Walter J. Freeman, the plenary lectures by seven eminent researchers, and about 200 carefully selected papers drawn from more than 20 countries. It documents current research and in-depth studies on the conception, design, and application of intelligent systems.

The field of Artificial Neural Networks is the fastest growing field in Information Technology and specifically, in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.This must-have compendium presents the theory and case studies of artificial neural networks. The volume, with 4 new chapters, updates the earlier edition by highlighting recent developments in Deep-Learning Neural Networks, which are the recent leading approaches to neural networks. Uniquely, the book also includes case studies of applications of neural networks — demonstrating how such case studies are designed, executed and how their results are obtained.The title is written for a one-semester graduate or senior-level undergraduate course on artificial neural networks. It is also intended to be a self-study and a reference text for scientists, engineers and for researchers in medicine, finance and data mining.

This book is an edited selection of the papers presented at the International Workshop on VLSI for Artifidal Intelligence and Neural Networks which was held at the University of Oxford in September 1990. Our thanks go to all the contributors and especially to the programme committee for all their hard work. Thanks are also due to the ACM-SIGARCH, the IEEE Computer Society, and the lEE for publicizing the event and to the University of Oxford and SUNY-Binghamton for their active support. We are particularly grateful to Anna Morris, Maureen Doherty and Laura Duffy for coping with the administrative problems. Jose Delgado-Frias Will Moore April 1991 vii PROLOGUE Artificial intelligence and neural network algorithms/computing have increased in complexity as well as in the number of applications. This in tum has posed a tremendous need for a larger computational power than can be provided by conventional scalar processors which are oriented towards numeric and data manipulations. Due to the artificial intelligence requirements (symbolic manipulation, knowledge representation, non-deterministic computations and dynamic resource allocation) and neural network computing approach (non-programming and learning), a different set of constraints and demands are imposed on the computer architectures for these applications.