Programmable probability processing

US9563851B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Analog Devices, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Jeffrey Bernstein · Middleton, US
• Benjamin Vigoda · Winchester, US
• Kartik Nanda · Austin, US
• Rishi Chaturvedi · San Diego, US
• David Hossack · Cambridge, US
• William J. Peet, II · Asbury Park, US
• Andrew Schweitzer · Cambridge, US
• TIMOTHY J. CAPUTO · Newton, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 7, 2012
• Grant date: Feb 7, 2017
• Expiry date: Sep 15, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q30/02
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

In an aspect, in general, a programmable computation device performs computations of an inference task specified by a plurality of variables and a plurality of factors, each factor being associated with a subset of the variables. The device includes one or more processing elements. Each processing element includes a first storage for a definition of a factor, a second storage for data associated with the inputs and/or outputs of at least some of the computations, and one or more computation units coupled to the first storage and the second storage for performing a succession of parts of the at least some of the computations that are associated with a factor, the succession of parts defined by data in the storage for the definition of the factor.