Accelerating FPGA-based evolution of wavelet transform filters by optimized task scheduling

Adaptive embedded systems are required in various applications. This work addresses these needs in the area of adaptive image compression in FPGA devices. A simplified version of an evolution strategy is utilized to optimize wavelet filters of a Discrete Wavelet Transform algorithm. We propose an adaptive image compression system in FPGA where optimized memory architecture, parallel processing and optimized task scheduling allow reducing the time of evolution. The proposed solution has been extensively evaluated in terms of the quality of compression as well as the processing time. The proposed architecture reduces the time of evolution by 44% compared to our previous reports while maintaining the quality of compression unchanged with respect to existing implementations. The system is able to find an optimized set of wavelet filters in less than 2 min whenever the input type of data changes

Evolutionary Approach to Improve Wavelet Transforms for Image Compression in Embedded Systems

A bioinspired, evolutionary algorithm for optimizing wavelet transforms oriented to improve image compression in embedded systems is proposed, modelled, and validated here. A simplified version of an Evolution Strategy, using fixed point arithmetic and a hardware-friendly mutation operator, has been chosen as the search algorithm. Several cutdowns on the computing requirements have been done to the original algorithm, adapting it for an FPGA implementation. The work presented in this paper describes the algorithm as well as the test strategy developed to validate it, showing several results in the effort to find a suitable set of parameters that assure the success in the evolutionary search. The results show how high-quality transforms are evolved from scratch with limited precision arithmetic and a simplified algorithm. Since the intended deployment platform is an FPGA, HW/SW partitioning issues are also considered as well as code profiling accomplished to validate the proposal, showing some preliminary results of the proposed hardware architecture

Fine-grained or coarse-grained? Strategies for implementing parallel genetic algorithms in a programmable neuromorphic platform

Genetic Algorithm (GA) is one of popular heuristic-based optimization methods that attracts engineers and scientists for many years. With the advancement of multi- and many-core technologies, GAs are transformed into more powerful tools by parallelising their core processes. This paper describes a feasibility study of implementing parallel GAs (pGAs) on a SpiNNaker. As a many-core neuromorphic platform, SpiNNaker offers a possibility to scale-up a parallelised algorithm, such as a pGA, whilst offering low power consumption on its processing and communication overhead. However, due to its small packets distribution mechanism and constrained processing resources, parallelising processes of a GA in SpiNNaker is challenging. In this paper we show how a pGA can be implemented on SpiNNaker and analyse its performance. Due to inherently numerous parameter and classification of pGAs, we evaluate only the most common aspects of a pGA and use some artificial benchmarking test functions. The experiments produced some promising results that may lead to further developments of massively parallel GAs on SpiNNaker

String Matching Problems with Parallel Approaches An Evaluation for the Most Recent Studies

In recent years string matching plays a functional role in many application like information retrieval, gene analysis, pattern recognition, linguistics, bioinformatics etc. For understanding the functional requirements of string matching algorithms, we surveyed the real time parallel string matching patterns to handle the current trends. Primarily, in this paper, we focus on present developments of parallel string matching, and the central ideas of the algorithms and their complexities. We present the performance of the different algorithms and their effectiveness. Finally this analysis helps the researchers to develop the better techniques

Generalized disjunction decomposition for evolvable hardware

Evolvable hardware (EHW) refers to self-reconfiguration hardware design, where the configuration is under the control of an evolutionary algorithm (EA). One of the main difficulties in using EHW to solve real-world problems is scalability, which limits the size of the circuit that may be evolved. This paper outlines a new type of decomposition strategy for EHW, the “generalized disjunction decomposition” (GDD), which allows the evolution of large circuits. The proposed method has been extensively tested, not only with multipliers and parity bit problems traditionally used in the EHW community, but also with logic circuits taken from the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) benchmark library and randomly generated circuits. In order to achieve statistically relevant results, each analyzed logic circuit has been evolved 100 times, and the average of these results is presented and compared with other EHW techniques. This approach is necessary because of the probabilistic nature of EA; the same logic circuit may not be solved in the same way if tested several times. The proposed method has been examined in an extrinsic EHW system using the$(1 + lambda)$evolution strategy. The results obtained demonstrate that GDD significantly improves the evolution of logic circuits in terms of the number of generations, reduces computational time as it is able to reduce the required time for a single iteration of the EA, and enables the evolution of larger circuits never before evolved. In addition to the proposed method, a short overview of EHW systems together with the most recent applications in electrical circuit design is provided

High performance graph analysis on parallel architectures

PhD ThesisOver the last decade pharmacology has been developing computational methods to enhance drug development and testing. A computational method called network pharmacology uses graph analysis tools to determine protein target sets that can lead on better targeted drugs for diseases as Cancer. One promising area of network-based pharmacology is the detection of protein groups that can produce better e ects if they are targeted together by drugs. However, the e cient prediction of such protein combinations is still a bottleneck in the area of computational biology. The computational burden of the algorithms used by such protein prediction strategies to characterise the importance of such proteins consists an additional challenge for the eld of network pharmacology. Such computationally expensive graph algorithms as the all pairs shortest path (APSP) computation can a ect the overall drug discovery process as needed network analysis results cannot be given on time. An ideal solution for these highly intensive computations could be the use of super-computing. However, graph algorithms have datadriven computation dictated by the structure of the graph and this can lead to low compute capacity utilisation with execution times dominated by memory latency. Therefore, this thesis seeks optimised solutions for the real-world graph problems of critical node detection and e ectiveness characterisation emerged from the collaboration with a pioneer company in the eld of network pharmacology as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) / Secondment (KTS). In particular, we examine how genetic algorithms could bene t the prediction of protein complexes where their removal could produce a more e ective 'druggable' impact. Furthermore, we investigate how the problem of all pairs shortest path (APSP) computation can be bene ted by the use of emerging parallel hardware architectures as GPU- and FPGA- desktop-based accelerators. In particular, we address the problem of critical node detection with the development of a heuristic search method. It is based on a genetic algorithm that computes optimised node combinations where their removal causes greater impact than common impact analysis strategies. Furthermore, we design a general pattern for parallel network analysis on multi-core architectures that considers graph's embedded properties. It is a divide and conquer approach that decomposes a graph into smaller subgraphs based on its strongly connected components and computes the all pairs shortest paths concurrently on GPU. Furthermore, we use linear algebra to design an APSP approach based on the BFS algorithm. We use algebraic expressions to transform the problem of path computation to multiple independent matrix-vector multiplications that are executed concurrently on FPGA. Finally, we analyse how the optimised solutions of perturbation analysis and parallel graph processing provided in this thesis will impact the drug discovery process.This research was part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) and Knowledge Transfer Secondment (KTS) between e-therapeutics PLC and Newcastle University. It was supported as a collaborative project by e-therapeutics PLC and Technology Strategy boar

FPGAs in Industrial Control Applications

The aim of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technologies and their contribution to industrial control applications. Authors start by addressing various research fields which can exploit the advantages of FPGAs. The features of these devices are then presented, followed by their corresponding design tools. To illustrate the benefits of using FPGAs in the case of complex control applications, a sensorless motor controller has been treated. This controller is based on the Extended Kalman Filter. Its development has been made according to a dedicated design methodology, which is also discussed. The use of FPGAs to implement artificial intelligence-based industrial controllers is then briefly reviewed. The final section presents two short case studies of Neural Network control systems designs targeting FPGAs