Intel Pohoiki Springs - a neuromorphic cluster in one mouse force

Intel continues to scale up solutions based on the neuromorphic Loihi processor. Last year, the company introduced the Pohoiki Beach system , containing a total of 64 Loihi processors, that is, more than 8 million neurons. Pohoiki Springs is now approaching 12 times more powerful solution with 768 processors and almost 100 million neurons, which is equivalent to the brain of a small mammal, for example, a mouse.

The Intel Loihi processor, the architecture of which is similar to the structure of the human brain, is a chip made according to the 14-nm process technology and contains 130 thousand neurons and 130 million synapses. Thanks to its special device, Loihi demonstrates very high performance indicators for a certain range of tasks (sparse coding algorithms, search graphs, constraint satisfaction problems, and many other aspects from the AI ​​problems), showing an increase of up to 1000 times in productivity and up to 10,000 times in energy efficiency Compared to traditional architecture processors.

Previously, Intel introduced two computing constructs based on Loihi: this is the already mentioned Pohoiki Beach server with 64 processors on board and a dual-processor Kapoho Bay USB dongle. Like Pohoiki Springs, these devices are not commercial products; they are provided to Intel Neuromorphic Research Community (INRC) members for AI research and high-performance algorithms.



Pohoiki Springs is a 5U rack-mounted chassis filled with Nahuku boards with Loihi processors (both are clearly visible in the photo). The maximum power consumption is only 500 watts. Pohoiki Springs will be available to the research community through the Loihi cloud service.