Bio-inspired massively-parallel computation

Stephen Furber*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

The Spinnaker (Spiking Neural Network Architecture) project will soon deliver a machine incorporating a million ARM processor cores for real-time modeling of large-scale spiking neural networks. Although the scale of the machine is in the realms of high-performance computing, the technology used to build the machine comes very much from the mobile embedded world, using small integer cores and Network-on-Chip communications both on and between chips. The full machine will use a total of 10 square meters of active silicon area with 57,600 routers using predominantly multicast algorithms to convey real-time spike information through a lightweight asynchronous packet-switched fabric. This paper presents the philosophy behind the machine, and the future prospects for systems with increased cognitive capabilities based on an increasing understanding of how biological brains process information.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationParallel Computing: On the Road to Exascale
PublisherElsevier BV
Pages3-10
Number of pages8
Volume27
ISBN (Print)9781614996200
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Publication series

NameAdvances in Parallel Computing
Volume27
ISSN (Print)09275452

Keywords

  • Bio-inspired computing
  • Massively-parallel computation
  • Neural networks

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