Deterministic bit-stream digital neurons

In this paper, we present the design of a deterministic bit-stream neuron, which makes use of the memory rich architecture of fine-grained field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). It is shown that deterministic bit streams provide the same accuracy as much longer stochastic bit streams. As these bit streams are processed serially, this allows neurons to be implemented that are much faster than those that utilize stochastic logic. Furthermore, due to the memory rich architecture of fine-grained FPGAs, these neurons still require only a small amount of logic to implement. The design presented here has been implemented on a Virtex FPGA, which allows a very regular layout facilitating efficient usage of space. This allows for the construction of neural networks large enough to solve complex tasks at a speed comparable to that provided by commercially available neural-network hardware.