AI And ML Applications Require Advanced Datapath Verification


In popular usage, the term “artificial intelligence” (AI) once conjured up images of robot armies subjugating humans or evil computers outsmarting their users, as in '2001: A Space Odyssey.' In recent years, AI has become a part of daily life for much of the planet’s population. People use voice commands to interact with their smartphones, smart speakers and even TV remote controls. Sophi... » read more

Taming Non-Predictable Systems


How predictable are semiconductor systems? The industry aims to create predictable systems and yet when a carrot is dangled, offering the possibility of faster, cheaper, or some other gain, decision makers invariably decide that some degree of uncertainty is warranted. Understanding uncertainty is at least the first step to making informed decisions, but new tooling is required to assess the im... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 26


Neural networks on MCUs Researchers at MIT are working to bring neural networks to Internet of Things devices. The team's MCUNet is a system that designs compact neural networks for deep learning on microcontrollers with limited memory and processing power. MCUNet is made up of two components. One is TinyEngine, an inference engine that directs resource management. TinyEngine is optimized t... » read more

The Chip Industry’s Next-Gen Roadmap


Todd Younkin, the new president and chief executive of the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about engineering careers, R&D trends and what’s ahead for chip technologies over the next decade. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: As a U.S.-based chip consortium, what is SRC's charter? Younkin: The Semiconductor Research... » read more

Hidden Costs In Faster, Low-Power AI Systems


Chipmakers are building orders of magnitude better performance and energy efficiency into smart devices, but to achieve those goals they also are making tradeoffs that will have far-reaching, long-lasting, and in some cases unknown impacts. Much of this activity is a direct result of pushing intelligence out to the edge, where it is needed to process, sort, and manage massive increases in da... » read more

Is Computing Facing An Energy Crisis?


Is the end near? If the topic is energy efficiency gains in computing, the answer depends on whom you ask. The steady increase in performance per watt over the decades has been one of the most important drivers in our industry. Last year I was thumbing through a neighbor’s 1967 Motorola IC catalog that featured such space age wonders as a small control chip of the sort that went into th... » read more

Why AI Systems Are So Hard To Predict


AI can do many things, but how to ensure that it does the right things is anything but clear. Much of this stems from the fact that AI/ML/DL systems are built to adapt and self-optimize. With properly adjusted weights, training algorithms can be used to make sure these systems don't stray too far from the starting point. But how to test for that, in the lab, the fab and in the field is far f... » read more

Top Tech Videos Of 2020


2020 shaped up to be a year of major upheaval, emerging markets and even increased demand in certain sectors. So it's not surprising that videos focusing on AI, balancing power and performance, designing and manufacturing at advanced nodes, advanced packaging, and automotive-related subjects were the most popular. Of the 68 videos published this year, the following were the most viewed in ea... » read more

5 Predictions For AI Innovation In 2021


By Arun Venkatachar and Stelios Diamantidis Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most important watchwords in all of technology. The once-utopian vision of developing machines that can think and behave like humans is becoming more of a reality as engineering innovations enable the performance required to process and interpret previously unimaginable amounts of data efficien... » read more

A Collaborative Data Model For AI/ML In EDA


This work explores industry perspectives on: Machine Learning and IC Design Demand for Data Structure of a Data Model A Unified Data Model: Digital and Analog examples Definition and Characteristics of Derived Data for ML Applications Need for IP Protection Unique Requirements for Inferencing Models Key Analysis Domains Conclusions and Proposed Future Work Abstra... » read more

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