Hardware implementation of evolvable block-based neural networks utilizing a cost efficient sigmoid-like activation function

A Dynamically Reconfigurable BbNN Architecture for Scalable Neuroevolution in Hardware

In this paper, a novel hardware architecture for neuroevolution is presented, aiming to enable the continuous adaptation of systems working in dynamic environments, by including the training stage intrinsically in the computing edge. It is based on the block-based neural network model, integrated with an evolutionary algorithm that optimizes the weights and the topology of the network simultaneously. Differently to the state-of-the-art, the proposed implementation makes use of advanced dynamic and partial reconfiguration features to reconfigure the network during evolution and, if required, to adapt its size dynamically. This way, the number of logic resources occupied by the network can be adapted by the evolutionary algorithm to the complexity of the problem, the expected quality of the results, or other performance indicators. The proposed architecture, implemented in a Xilinx Zynq-7020 System-on-a-Chip (SoC) FPGA device, reduces the usage of DSPs and BRAMS while introducing a novel synchronization scheme that controls the latency of the circuit. The proposed neuroevolvable architecture has been integrated with the OpenAI toolkit to show how it can efficiently be applied to control problems, with a variable complexity and dynamic behavior. The versatility of the solution is assessed by also targeting classification problems.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Wavelet Approximations in Resizing Images for Ultrasound Image Classification

Images are difficult to classify and annotate but the availability of digital image databases creates a constant demand for tools that automatically analyze image content and describe it with either a category or a set of variables. Ultrasound Imaging is very popular and is widely used to see the internal organ(s) condition of the patient. The main target of this research is to develop a robust image processing techniques for a better and more accurate medical image retrieval and categorization. This paper looks at an alternative to feature extraction for image classification such as image resizing technique. A new mean for image resizing using wavelet transform is proposed. Results, using real medical images, have shown the effectiveness of the proposed technique for classification task comparing to bi-cubic interpolation and feature extraction.