Embedded system

Operating system

Compiler

Parallel computing

Computer science

Software

Computer architecture

MNIST database

Neuromorphic engineering

Toolchain

Spiking neural network

Artificial intelligence

Python (programming language)

Artificial neural network

Computer

Loihi is Intel’s novel, manycore neuromorphic processor and is the first of its kind to feature a microcode-programmable learning engine that enables on-chip training of spiking neural networks (SNNs). The authors present the Loihi toolchain, which consists of an intuitive Python-based API for specifying SNNs, a compiler and runtime for building and executing SNNs on Loihi, and several target platforms (Loihi silicon, FPGA, and functional simulator). To showcase the toolchain, the authors describe how to build, train, and use a SNN to classify handwritten digits from the MNIST database.

Programming Spiking Neural Networks on Intel’s Loihi