266 research outputs found
Nn-X - a hardware accelerator for convolutional neural networks
Convolutional neural networks (ConvNets) are hierarchical models of the mammalian visual cortex. These models have been increasingly used in computer vision to perform object recognition and full scene understanding. ConvNets consist of multiple layers that contain groups of artificial neurons, which are mathematical approximations of biological neurons. A ConvNet can consist of millions of neurons and require billions of computations to produce one output. ^ Currently, giant server farms are used to process information in real time. These supercomputers require a large amount of power and a constant link to the end-user. Low powered embedded systems are not able to run convolutional neural networks in real time. Thus, using these systems on mobile platforms or on platforms where a connection to an off-site server is not guaranteed, is unfeasible. ^ In this work we present nn-X — a scalable hardware architecture capable of processing ConvNets in real time. We evaluate the performance and power consumption of the aforementioned architecture and compare it with systems typically used to process convolutional neural networks. Our system is prototyped on the Xilinx Zynq XC7Z045 device. On this device, we are able to achieve a peak performance of 227 GOPs/s, a measured performance of up to 200 GOPs/s while consuming less than 3 W of power. This translates to a performance per power improvement of up to 10 times that of conventional embedded systems and up to 25 times that of performance systems like desktops and GPUs
Efficient Deep Feature Learning and Extraction via StochasticNets
Deep neural networks are a powerful tool for feature learning and extraction
given their ability to model high-level abstractions in highly complex data.
One area worth exploring in feature learning and extraction using deep neural
networks is efficient neural connectivity formation for faster feature learning
and extraction. Motivated by findings of stochastic synaptic connectivity
formation in the brain as well as the brain's uncanny ability to efficiently
represent information, we propose the efficient learning and extraction of
features via StochasticNets, where sparsely-connected deep neural networks can
be formed via stochastic connectivity between neurons. To evaluate the
feasibility of such a deep neural network architecture for feature learning and
extraction, we train deep convolutional StochasticNets to learn abstract
features using the CIFAR-10 dataset, and extract the learned features from
images to perform classification on the SVHN and STL-10 datasets. Experimental
results show that features learned using deep convolutional StochasticNets,
with fewer neural connections than conventional deep convolutional neural
networks, can allow for better or comparable classification accuracy than
conventional deep neural networks: relative test error decrease of ~4.5% for
classification on the STL-10 dataset and ~1% for classification on the SVHN
dataset. Furthermore, it was shown that the deep features extracted using deep
convolutional StochasticNets can provide comparable classification accuracy
even when only 10% of the training data is used for feature learning. Finally,
it was also shown that significant gains in feature extraction speed can be
achieved in embedded applications using StochasticNets. As such, StochasticNets
allow for faster feature learning and extraction performance while facilitate
for better or comparable accuracy performances.Comment: 10 pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with
arXiv:1508.0546
- …