Analog Devices,inc.

Timothy J Caputo

Jeffrey G Bernstein

Benjamin Vigoda

David MacDonald Hossack

Kartik Nanda

Donald F Porges

Andrew Schweitzer

Rishi Chaturvedi

William Peet

Embodiments of the present disclosure are based on a recognition that some processors are configured with instructions to compute logarithms and exponents (i.e. some processors include log and exp circuits). Embodiments of the present disclosure are further based on an insight that the use of the existing log and exp circuits could be extended to compute certain other functions by using the existing log and exp circuits to transform from a Cartesian to a logarithmic domain and vice versa and performing the actual computations of the functions in the logarithmic domain, which may be computationally easier than performing the computations in the Cartesian domain.

Extended use of logarithm and exponent instructions

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.

Programmable probability processing

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Newton, MA, United States of America

Timothy J Caputo