Analog VLSI Sensory Processing

本研究讨论了用于处理感官信号的连续时间模拟VLSI芯片的实现。两种特定的模拟传感器正在开发中：1)单芯片视觉时间-接触传感器，报告芯片与迎面而来的障碍物碰撞的时间（假设恒定的相对运动）；2)声音定位芯片，使用来自两个麦克风的信号计算声源的方向（二维）。虽然这些项目可能看起来不相关，但在CMOS硬件中使用自适应模拟计算的建议解决方案导致许多必须解决的共同问题。通过提供听觉和视觉处理之间的交叉受精，希望能够发现潜在的生物计算原语和神经元表征。由此产生的低功耗模拟器件在智能汽车碰撞预警传感器和改进的低功耗助听器等领域具有明显的应用。本科和研究生阶段的教育计划都强调跨学科。学生经常被教导专注于一个狭窄的领域，因此无法将他们的工作与整体系统目标联系起来。教学目标是：1)强调现实世界系统的跨学科性质，2)向学生介绍现实世界信号处理应用的问题解决技术。在现有的课程中，强调使用实验室和计算机实验，学生可以对概念进行动手实验。将在本科和研究生阶段设计新课程，让学生更多地接触真实世界的实验室实验。

This research deals with the implementation of continuous-time analog VLSI chaps for processing of sensory signals. Two specific analog sensors are being developed: 1) a single-chip visual time- to-contact sensor that reports the amount of time until the chip collides with an oncoming obstacle (assuming constant relative motion), and, 2) a sound localization chip that computes the direction (in two-dimensions) of a sound source using signals from two microphones. Though these projects may appear to be unrelated, the proposed solutions using adaptive analog computation in CMOS hardware lead to many common problems that must be solved. By providing a cross-fertilization between auditory and visual processing, it is hoped that the underlying biological computational primitives and neuronal representations will be discovered. The resulting low-power analog devices have obvious applications in such areas as collision warning sensors for intelligent automobiles and improved, low-power hearing aids. The educational plan at both the undergraduate and graduate level has a strong interdisciplinary emphasis. Too often students are taught to specialize in a narrow area and are consequently unable to relate their work to an overall system objective. Teaching objectives are: 1) to stress the interdisciplinary nature of real- world systems, and 2) to introduce students to problem solving techniques for real-world signal-processing applications. In existing classes, the use of laboratories and computer experiments where students can do hands-on experimentation with concepts is emphasized. New courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels that give students more exposure to real-world experimentation in laboratories will be designed.