Neuromorphic Spike Transmission Using Strobe Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing address event representation (AER) method for transmitting spike events in neuromorphic chips complicates the structure of transceivers for reading and writing addresses, making it inefficient for synchronizing address information with time information of spike events.
Innovation Solution
A transmission apparatus and method that includes an address output unit for sequential output of addresses, spike detection units to identify spike events, and a strobe output unit to represent the time information of spike occurrence, simplifying the transceiver structure by separately synchronizing and transmitting address and time information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the AER method is used to asynchronously write address information to a communication bus, then spike event transmission is enabled, but the transceiver structure becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the transmission of address information and time information into separate channels. Address information is written to the communication bus asynchronously via AER, while time information is transmitted separately through a dedicated time bus. This segmentation allows each channel to be optimized independently, simplifying the overall transceiver structure while maintaining full spike event transmission capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a strobe signal as an intermediary mechanism that coordinates between the address information and time information transmission. The strobe signal triggers the latching of address information at the receiving end, ensuring synchronization without requiring complex handshake protocols. This intermediary approach decouples the complexity of direct coordination between address and time channels.
2Loss of information
If address information and time information are transmitted together, then complete spike event data is conveyed, but synchronization becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the spike event data into two separate transmission streams: address information on the communication bus and time information on the time bus. This segmentation prevents the synchronization problems that would arise from trying to transmit both together, as each stream can be independently timed and triggered by its own strobe signal, ensuring both completeness and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring the receiving transceiver with the ability to latch address information at specific strobe edges. This preliminary setup allows the system to capture address data at precisely the right moment based on the strobe signal, ensuring accurate synchronization without requiring complex real-time coordination during data transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and a method for transmitting and receiving a spike event in a neuromorphic chip. A transmission apparatus of the neuromorphic chip outputs addresses sequentially and repeatedly to an address bus, and when a spike generated by a neuron is detected by the transmission apparatus, outputs a strobe at a first time when one of the addresses being output sequentially and repeatedly becomes identical to an address of the neuron that generated the spike. A receiving apparatus of the neuromorphic chip inputs an address through the address bus at a strobe detection time when the strobe is detected by the receiving apparatus.