Analog Spiking Neural Network Synthesis for the MNIST

Abstract

Different from classical artificial neural network which processes digital data, the spiking neural network (SNN) processes spike trains. Indeed, its event-driven property helps to capture the rich dynamics the neurons have within the brain, and the sparsity of collected spikes helps reducing computational power. Novel synthesis framework is proposed and an algorithm is detailed to guide designers into deep learning and energy-efficient analog SNN using MNIST. An analog SNN composed of 86 electronic neurons (eNeuron) and 1238 synapses interacting through two hidden layers is illustrated. Three different models of eNeurons implementations are tested, being (Leaky) Integrate-and-Fire (LIF), Morris Lecar (ML) simplified (simp.) and biomimetic (bio.). The proposed SNN, coupling deep learning and ultra-low power, is trained using a common machine learning system (Tensor- Flow) for the MNIST. LIF eNeurons implementations present some limitations and weakness in terms of dynamic range. Both ML eNeurons achieve robust accuracy which is approximately of 0.82.