Back to Search
Start Over
Toward Human-Scale Brain Computing Using 3D Wafer Scale Integration
- Source :
- ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems. 13:1-21
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2017.
-
Abstract
- The Von Neumann architecture, defined by strict and hierarchical separation of memory and processor, has been a hallmark of conventional computer design since the 1940s. It is becoming increasingly unsuitable for cognitive applications, which require massive parallel processing of highly interdependent data. Inspired by the brain, we propose a significantly different architecture characterized by a large number of highly interconnected simple processors intertwined with very large amounts of low-latency memory. We contend that this memory-centric architecture can be realized using 3D wafer scale integration for which the technology is nearing readiness, combined with current CMOS device technologies. The natural fault tolerance and lower power requirements of neuromorphic processing make 3D wafer stacking particularly attractive. In order to assess the performance of this architecture, we propose a specific embodiment of a neuronal system using 3D wafer scale integration; formulate a simple model of brain connectivity including short- and long-range connections; and estimate the memory, bandwidth, latency, and power requirements of the system using the connectivity model. We find that 3D wafer scale integration, combined with technologies nearing readiness, offers the potential for scaleup to a primate-scale brain, while further scaleup to a human-scale brain would require significant additional innovations.
- Subjects :
- 010302 applied physics
Wafer-scale integration
Computer science
business.industry
Distributed computing
Human scale
Fault tolerance
01 natural sciences
03 medical and health sciences
symbols.namesake
0302 clinical medicine
Neuromorphic engineering
CMOS
Hardware and Architecture
Embedded system
0103 physical sciences
symbols
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Architecture
business
Massively parallel
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Software
Von Neumann architecture
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15504840 and 15504832
- Volume :
- 13
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........724f835456f57955aed94e383acb511b