A neocortex model implementation on reconfigurable logic with streaming memory

Abstract

In this paper we study the acceleration of a new class of cognitive processing applications based on the structure of the neocortex. Our focus is on a model of the visual cortex used for image recognition developed by George and Hawkins. We propose techniques to accelerate the algorithm using reconfigurable logic, specifically a streaming memory architecture utilizing available off-chip memory. We discuss the design of a streaming memory access unit enabling a large number of processing elements to be placed on a single FPGA thus increasing throughput. We present an implementation of our approach on a Cray XD1 and discuss possible extension to further increase throughput. Our results indicate that using a two FPGA design with streaming memory gives a speedup of 71.9 times over a purely software implementation.