Hardware/Software Co-design for a Neural Network Trained by Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm.

A co-design architecture for the field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based classification system is proposed. In this architecture, a neural network (NN) is trained by the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). The NN is implemented in hardware, and the PSO training is executed by a processor. The ARM processor and the NIOS II processor are used. This architecture maintains the operating speed of the NN. This approach also has the flexibility to change the parameters or even the PSO algorithm without affecting the FPGA part. Three publicly recognized databases (Iris, Balance-scale, Credit approval) are used to evaluate the system. Experimental results showed that the co-design was successfully implemented. In addition, compared to the NIOS II approach, the ARM approach had the advantages regarding the operating speed and the logic utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]