AI Chip Center for Emerging Smart Systems

Developing AI Chips for the New Data-centric Computing Paradigms

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as autonomous vehicles, medical diagnosis and video image analytics has fuelled the transformation of many industries. The introduction of specialised AI chips makes training and running AI models much more efficient and effective. These specialised AI chips allow AI tasks to run faster and consume less power than general-purpose chips. According to a recent Research and Markets report[1], the global AI device market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 42% from 2020–2024 reaching a value of US$54.03 billion.

ACCESS is a multi-disciplinary center, which will focus on research of designing customized AI chips to realise ubiquitous AI applications.

Collaboration spaces are designed for our experts and talents to meet and work.

ACCESS colleagues work closely for AI chip and hardware design collaboration and research.

To cope with this emerging demand on hardware, the AI Chip Center for Emerging Smart Systems (ACCESS) is putting Hong Kong on the global map of AI chip and hardware design. ACCESS is a tightly coordinated, multi-disciplinary center for advancing integrated circuit (IC) design technologies to enable novel data-centric computing paradigms supporting a wide range of AI applications. The Center will focus on the research theme of designing customised AI chips to realise ubiquitous AI applications used throughout society.

The research agenda in ACCESS is organised into four programmes:

• Enabling Technology for Emerging Computing Systems addresses memory and data bandwidth problems to alleviate the bottlenecks of AI hardware by exploring integration of silicon-compatible emerging technologies with scaled silicon chips.
• Architecture and Heterogeneous System Integration focuses on exploring different new architectural and system integration solutions for efficient neuromorphic computing on platforms ranging from cloud to smart Internet of Things.
• AI-Assisted EDA (Electronic Design Automation) for AI Hardware hopes to develop new design methodologies and design automation tools for AI chips.
• Hardware-Accelerated AI Applications emphasise selected emerging applications for hardware acceleration, exploring system architecture and new design tools specific to the target applications to achieve breakthroughs in AI hardware in speeds and energy efficiency.

[1] https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5022290/global-artificial-intelligence-ai-chips-market?w=5