MIT spin-out claims probability processing circuits can offer 1000x efficiencies in cost, power, size
Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, news -- EDN, August 18, 2010
Lyric Semiconductor Inc, a DARPA- and venture-funded MIT spin-out, has emerged from stealth mode to launch what it is calling probability processing technology, which it believes will in the future offer 1000x efficiencies in cost, power, and size as compared to today’s digital computing.In short, Lyric’s probability processing computes likelihoods or odds. Its logic gate circuit uses transistors as dimmer switches instead of as on/off switches and Boolean logic. Lyric’s circuits can accept inputs and calculate outputs that are between 0 and 1, directly representing probabilities, the company said.
Lyric’s first commercialized application of the probability processing technology, Lyric Error Correction (LEC) for flash memory, offers a 30x reduction in die size and a 12x improvement in power consumption at higher throughput compared to today’s digital solutions, according to the company. Lyric said that many applications that today require a thousand conventional processors could run in just one of its processors, providing 1000x efficiencies in cost, power, and size.
“After a decade of development, we have no shortage of opportunities for our probability processing technology, but we are currently focused on a modest list of both short and long-term applications that will see enormous gains in performance,” Ben Vigoda, Lyric CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “We are starting with Lyric Error Correction but ultimately plan to develop a more general purpose probability processor that will truly change the landscape for many applications.”
Beyond its LEC technology, Lyric is developing the GP5, a general-purpose programmable probability processing platform. The company said GP5 will be suited to calculate probabilities for all types of applications – from Web searches to genome sequencing – and could allow for performance gains of 1000x over current digital x86-based systems. GP5 will run code written in Lyric’s own probability programming language called PSBL (Probability Synthesis to Bayesian Logic).
Lyric’s LEC technology is currently available for license, accompanied by support services enabling product integration within 12 months. The first GP5 is slated to begin sampling in 2013.
Talkback
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Multivalued logics have, over the last 40 years, carved out a small but consistently growing niche in the electronics world. In addition to "Fuzzy Logic", neural networks, the "best matches" in dual port memory systems and programming in LISP have represented the bulk of the implementations. Since reading Lotfi Zadeh's seminal paper, "Fuzzy Sets and Systems", as a student in the early 1970's, I have believed that it was only a matter of waiting for Moore's Law to provide the technology to implement these concepts into silicon before a true quantum leap in machine intelligence became practical. Let's hope that the time has arrived.
Jay Hoge - 2010-21-8 04:05:38 PDT -
To the Fuzzy Logic comment. The problem with Fuzzy Logic was they were using it through standard logic, thereby forcing fuzzy through software. This moves it to hardware, which had to be a significant task. In our give it to us now world we fail to realize that it is rare for truly great ideas to emerge overnight. So fuzzy logic could be compared to the first car, and now comes the race cars. It took a few decades for the really high performance cars to come along, but the first car was still a great idea.
To me this is a logical step to computer self intelligence. The question to me is what will be the major pitfalls. Imagine the software effort on the technology. It will need to be rewritten entirely. You can not build on current technology, so even with this new hardware, it could still be a decade or two to really see the true benefits.
The alternative view being the hurdles will be to big to make this technology work. Only Time will tell.
John V - 2010-19-8 06:06:14 PDT -
Ha! Fuzzy Logic! I remember the last time that describing problems as a probability between 0-1 was hyped as a new way of solving problems. Never materialized...
Larry Park - 2010-18-8 20:53:07 PDT -
Lyric's chip and that "probability processor" under it sound like they are functionally equivalent and about equally useful.
Andy T - 2010-18-8 19:19:46 PDT -
@Brad- Come on man!!! Let your mind run freely. If this circuit uses analog levels to represent approximate values for probability calculations, it could also go hard over to either 1 or 0 to represent exact values for binary calculations. This is two computers in one, analog and digital.
Mark Clemmons - 2010-18-8 18:26:09 PDT
