CAREER: Modularized Silicon-based Neuromorphic Visual Processing Systems Implemented in Analog VLSI

[9984386] titus本提案中提出的项目通过探索和开发将教育和研究活动结合起来。工作的研究部分将围绕模拟VLSI系统领域展开，重点是神经形态处理。将采用一种独特的方法来实现一个集成的人工视觉系统，该系统由不同的组件组成，旨在无缝地协同工作。整个系统将被设计为一个完整的功能单元，但将被设计为模块化部件，每个部件都单独创建；视觉系统的复杂性要求将其建模为可管理的部分。视觉系统将由视网膜执行的低级处理功能、中级立体视觉处理和高级物体识别组成。视网膜功能已经成功实现，但还需要对之前的设计进行修改，以适应与其他处理级别的连接。已经创建的模拟VLSI立体视觉处理器设计将被重新设计，以充分利用对象识别处理单元的自上而下连接。最后，将基于当前的对象识别的心理物理和生物模型设计一个独特的对象识别系统，该系统与模拟VLSI兼容。最终的系统将是一个基于硅的系统，执行多种视觉功能，并在模拟VLSI平台上实现。本研究将透过模组化的概念，为人工视觉系统的发展提供新的见解。这种类型的处理专用模拟电路结构紧凑，功耗非常低，非常适合低成本，大批量和自主勘探设备。此外，这项工作将产生一套模拟VLSI的设计标准，这将有助于该技术的主流化。在这个项目中从事研究的学生将接触到不同的科学领域，并对如何建模和合成复杂系统产生新的见解。工作的教学部分将围绕在教室中增加技术的使用，通过不同的教学方法满足不同学生群体的需求，通过增加对集成和系统级集成电路设计的理解，以及分别解决本科生和研究生水平的保留和招聘问题。这些目标与一个共同主题密切相关：通过承诺改善教育。通过开发新方法或利用各种现有方法向学生传授知识，各行各业的学生都能发现电气工程是令人兴奋和充实的。这将通过继续试验小组学习技术和其他形式的评价和评估来实现。模拟VLSI系统的研究需要了解系统的所有层面，从晶体管物理到放大器设计，从ic级布局问题到板级互连。为了成为未来更复杂系统的成功设计师，学生们还必须了解这些层次及其关系。这些概念将通过在核心电子学课程中强调集成和系统约束，通过引入新的IC布局选修课程以及在大一阶段检查布局工具的介绍来加强。提出的教育计划与研究计划紧密联系，将本科生纳入研究项目，并通过指导监督将研究型研究生纳入教育过程。建议的研究结果将以小组项目，案例研究的形式呈现给本科生，以加强核心知识，并通过课堂上的例子。学生作品集将作为帮助学生通过定期评估来提高他们对材料理解的一种手段，通过维护一个针对小学和高中学生的最新网站，他们将有机会了解正在进行的研究工作。此外，将开发以学生为导向的基于研究的项目演示，并将其带入课堂，以进一步吸引学生，因为他们正在制定他们未来的兴趣。***

9984386TitusThe project presented in this proposal combines educational and research activities through exploration and development.The research portion of the work will be formed around the field of analog VLSI systems with an emphasis on neuromorphic processing. A unique approach will be taken to implement an integrated artificial visual system that is formed from distinct components that are designed to work together seamlessly. The entire system will be designed to operate as an entire, functional unit, but will be designed as modular pieces with each piece created individually; the complexity of the visual system requires that it be modeled in manageable pieces. The visual system will consist of the low-level processing functions performed by the retina, mid-level stereopsis processing, and highlevel object recognition. The retina function has been implemented successfully, but modifications will he made to previous designs to accommodate the connections to other levels of processing. An analog VLSI stereopsis processor design that has been created will be redesigned to fully take advantage of top-down connections from an object recognition-processing unit. Finally, a unique object recognition system will be designed based on current psychophysical and biological models of object recognition that is compatible with analog VLSI. The final system will be a silicon-based system that performs multiple visual functions and implemented on an analog VLSI platform.The proposed research will provide new insights into the development of artificial visual systems through the concept of modularization. This type of processing-specific analog circuit is compact and has very low power consumption, making it ideally suited for low cost, high volume, and autonomous exploration devices. Also, this work will generate a set of design standards for analog VLSI, which will aid the mainstreaming of this technology. Students working on the research in this project will gain exposure to diverse fields of science and develop new insights into how to model and synthesize complex systems.The teaching portion of the work will be formed around increasing the use of technology in the classrooms, by addressing the needs of a diverse student body through varied teaching methods, by increasing the understanding of integration and system-level IC design, and by addressing the retention and recruitment problems at the undergraduate and graduate levels, respectively. These objectives are closely linked to one common theme: improving education through commitment. By developing new methods or using the variety of existing methods to transfer knowledge to students, students from all walks of life can find electrical engineering to be exciting and fulfilling. This will be accomplished by continuing to experiment with group learning techniques and alternative forms of evaluation and assessment.The study of analog VLSI systems requires an understanding of all levels of a system, from transistor physics to amplifier design to IC-level layout issues to board-level interconnections. Students must also have an understanding of these levels and their relationship in order to be successful designers of the more complex systems of the future. These concepts will be reinforced by highlighting integration and system constraints in the core electronics class, by introducing a new IC layout elective class and examining the introduction of layout tools at the freshman level.The proposed educational plan is closely tied to the research plan by involving undergraduate students in the research projects and by involving research-oriented graduate students in the educational process through guided supervision. The results from the proposed research will be brought to undergraduate students in the form of group projects, case studies for reinforcing core knowledge, and through examples in class. Student portfolios will be explored as means for aiding students in improving their understanding of material through regular assessment by maintaining an up-to-date website intended for elementary and high school students, they will have access to the ongoing research work. Additionally, student-oriented research-based project demonstrations will be developed that will be brought into classrooms to further engage the students as they are formulating their future interests.***