Method and system for hierarchical weight-sparse convolution processing
US10970619B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 21, 2020 |
| Grant date | Apr 6, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 21, 2040 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06N3/048
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for hierarchical weight-sparse convolution processing are described. An exemplary method comprises: obtaining an input tensor and a plurality of filters at a convolution layer of a neural network; segmenting the input tensor into a plurality of sub-tensors and assigning the plurality of sub-tensors to a plurality of processors; generating, for each of the plurality of filters, a hierarchical bit representation of a plurality of non-zero weights in the filter, wherein the hierarchical bit representation comprises a plurality of bits indicating whether a sub-filter has at least one non-zero weight, and a plurality of key-value pairs corresponding to the plurality of non-zero weights in the filter; identifying, based on the hierarchical bit representation, one or more of the plurality of non-zero weights and corresponding input values from the assigned sub-tensor to perform multiply-and-accumulate (MAC) operations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.