In plain words: A chip that runs brain-like spiking networks as fast analog circuits, with a small digital processor attached to steer it and adjust the connections. Unlike simulating such networks step by step on a normal computer, it plays them out faster than real time.
Abstract
Since the beginning of information processing by electronic components, the nervous system has served as a metaphor for the organization of computational primitives. Brain-inspired computing today encompasses a class of approaches ranging from using novel nano-devices for computation to research into large-scale neuromorphic architectures, such as TrueNorth, SpiNNaker, BrainScaleS, Tianjic, and Loihi. While implementation details differ, spiking neural networks - sometimes referred to as the third generation of neural networks - are the common abstraction used to model computation with such systems. Here we describe the second generation of the BrainScaleS neuromorphic architecture, emphasizing applications enabled by this architecture. It combines a custom analog accelerator core supporting the accelerated physical emulation of bio-inspired spiking neural network primitives with a tightly coupled digital processor and a digital event-routing network.
Christian Pehle, Sebastian Billaudelle, Benjamin Cramer, Jakob Kaiser, Korbinian Schreiber, Yannik Stradmann, Johannes Weis, Aron Leibfried, Eric Müller, Johannes Schemmel
arXiv:2201.11063 · cs.NE, cond-mat.dis-nn, q-bio.NC · submitted Jan 26, 2022 · updated Feb 3, 2022
abstract · pdf · html · 22 pages, 10 figures; amended funding acknowledgements, added one citation