This document discusses hardware freedom and independent hardware development. It covers several topics including FPGA and memory-based computing, printed and organic electronics, high-level synthesis, and neuromorphic computing projects like DARPA's SyNAPSE initiative. The presentation aims to promote hardware freedom and discusses alternative approaches to traditional CPU-based systems through reconfigurable and novel computing platforms.

1. Independent hardware development
(platforms)
ASIC
M$
FPGA
MBC?
Printed
electronics
K$
100$
?$
???
Quantum
Neuro
Analog
...
?$
Hardware freedom
Alexey Shmatok <activedaily@gmail.com>
Moscow 2013
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

2. Field Programmable Gate Array
more Freedom (ASIC)
Carry out
In
n
LUT
Carry &
Control
FF
Out
Carry in
up to Millions
of Logic Cells
DSP, BRAM, IOB,...
Layout
example
http://bit.ly/ucMUU1
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

3. Memory based computing
more Freedom (FPGA)
In
n
LUT
Pipelined
FF
Out
In
n
MLUT
m
Out
Just memory
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

4. Basic principle
Foreach
MLUT
A
D
Mem
Write (reconfiguration)
Data
A
D
Mem
MLUT(A)
Read (working)
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

5. Minimalistic design
Input
Glue
logic
Addr
Mem
Data Mem
alwa
beg ys @ (p
in
ose
dge
coun
clk)
ter <
end
= c
oun
ter +
1;
Glue
logic
Output
design tools?
sync/async mem
limits
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

6. Sync/Async design my favorite :)
sync: always@(posedge clk,...) begin … end
Logic
FF
Logic
…
FF
clk
clockless: always@(...) begin … end
Logic
FF
Logic
…
FF
Control
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

7. Printable/Paintable, Plastic,
Organic, ... electronics
more Freedom (*)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printed_electronics
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

8. App
AppSrv
JVM
SW
#NoCPU = Not only CPU
CPU Way
NoCPU Way
VS
HW-Core
HW-Core
HW-Core
H
HV
W
OS
Just App
energy
flex
s/async
more
human
like
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

9. #HLS High Level Synthesis
Code => RTL
open source
for(int I;i<n;i++){
c[i]=a[i]+b[i]
}
+
b[]
a[]
+
c[]
+
Code
RTL
LLVM!
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

10. Interesting
DARPA SyNAPSE project
DARPA sponsored SyNAPSE (Systems of
Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable
Electronics) project, launched in early 2009, is
to “investigate innovative approaches that
enable revolutionary advances in neuromorphic
electronic devices that are scalable to biological
levels.”
http://www.modha.org/
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

11. Speech only
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013

12. Independent hardware development
Thank you
Questions,
Comments,
???
Alexey Shmatok <activedaily@gmail.com>
HW/SW R&D
Moscow 2013
Hardware Freedom Day Moscow 20 April 2013