April 30, 2024

Hiddenite: A New AI Processor Based on a Cutting-Edge Neural Network Theory

A new accelerator chip called “Hiddenite” that can achieve state-of-the-art accuracy in the calculation of sporadic “surprise neural networks” with lower computational problems has actually now been developed by Tokyo Tech scientists. By employing the proposed on-chip model construction, which is the combination of weight generation and “supermask” expansion, the Hiddenite chip significantly decreases external memory access for boosted computational efficiency.
Deep neural networks (DNNs) are a complex piece of machine learning architecture for AI (artificial knowing) that require numerous specifications to find out to predict outputs. DNNs can, however, be “pruned,” therefore minimizing the computational burden and model size. A couple of years earlier, the “lottery game ticket hypothesis” took the artificial intelligence world by storm. The hypothesis stated that an arbitrarily initialized DNN contains subnetworks that accomplish accuracy comparable to the initial DNN after training. The bigger the network, the more “lottery tickets” for successful optimization. These lottery tickets thus enable “pruned” sporadic neural networks to attain accuracies comparable to more complex, “dense” networks, thus decreasing overall computational burdens and power consumptions.

Figure 1. HNNs discover sporadic subnetworks which accomplish comparable precision to the original thick qualified design. Credit: Masato Motomura from Tokyo Tech
One method to find such subnetworks is the covert neural network (HNN) algorithm, which uses AND reasoning (where the output is just high when all the inputs are high) on the initialized random weights and a “binary mask” called a “supermask” (Fig. 1). The calculation of neural networks also requires enhancements in the hardware parts.
Standard DNN accelerators use high performance, but they do rule out the power consumption brought on by external memory gain access to. Now, scientists from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), led by Professors Jaehoon Yu and Masato Motomura, have developed a brand-new accelerator chip called “Hiddenite,” which can compute concealed neural networks with considerably enhanced power usage. “Reducing the external memory access is the crucial to lowering power consumption. Presently, accomplishing high reasoning accuracy needs big designs. This increases external memory access to load model parameters. Our primary inspiration behind the development of Hiddenite was to minimize this external memory access,” explains Prof. Motomura. Their study will feature in the upcoming International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2022, a prestigious global conference showcasing the pinnacles of achievement in incorporated circuits.
Figure 2. The brand-new Hiddenite chip offers on-chip weight generation and on-chip “supermask growth” to minimize external memory access for loading design specifications. Credit: Masato Motomura from Tokyo Tech
” Hiddenite” represents Hidden Neural Network Inference Tensor Engine and is the first HNN reasoning chip. The Hiddenite architecture (Fig. 2) offers three-fold benefits to decrease external memory access and attain high energy efficiency. The first is that it uses the on-chip weight generation for re-generating weights by utilizing a random number generator. This eliminates the requirement to access the external memory and store the weights. The 2nd benefit is the provision of the “on-chip supermask expansion,” which decreases the number of supermasks that need to be packed by the accelerator. The third enhancement used by the Hiddenite chip is the high-density four-dimensional (4D) parallel processor that takes full advantage of information re-use throughout the computational process, thus enhancing performance.
Figure 3. Fabricated utilizing 40nm innovation, the core of the chip area is just 4.36 square millimeters. Credit: Masato Motomura from Tokyo Tech
” The very first 2 factors are what set the Hiddenite chip apart from existing DNN inference accelerators,” reveals Prof. Motomura. “Moreover, we likewise introduced a brand-new training method for concealed neural networks, called score distillation, in which the conventional knowledge distillation weights are distilled into ball games since concealed neural networks never update the weights. The accuracy using score distillation is comparable to the binary design while being half the size of the binary model.”
Based on the hiddenite architecture, the team has actually created, produced, and determined a model chip with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Companys (TSMC) 40nm procedure (Fig. 3). The chip is only 3mm x 3mm and handles 4,096 MAC (multiply-and-accumulate) operations at the same time. It attains a cutting edge level of computational effectiveness, approximately 34.8 trillion or tera operations per 2nd (TOPS) per Watt of power, while lowering the quantity of design transfer to half that of binarized networks.
These findings and their effective exhibition in a real silicon chip make certain to trigger another paradigm shift in the world of machine knowing, paving the method for faster, more effective, and eventually more environment-friendly computing.

Now, researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), led by Professors Jaehoon Yu and Masato Motomura, have actually established a new accelerator chip called “Hiddenite,” which can calculate covert neural networks with drastically enhanced power intake. The brand-new Hiddenite chip provides on-chip weight generation and on-chip “supermask expansion” to reduce external memory gain access to for filling model criteria.” Hiddenite” stands for Hidden Neural Network Inference Tensor Engine and is the first HNN inference chip. The 3rd enhancement used by the Hiddenite chip is the high-density four-dimensional (4D) parallel processor that makes the most of information re-use during the computational procedure, therefore improving performance.
” The very first 2 factors are what set the Hiddenite chip apart from existing DNN inference accelerators,” exposes Prof. Motomura.