The RISP Neuroprocessor - Open Source Support for Embedded Neuromorphic Computing

Neuromorphic computing offers exciting possibilities for embedded systems and edge-computing, due to its combination of computational ability and low size, weight, and power. However, open source solutions for embedded neuromorphic computing are lacking. In this paper, we present open source support for the RISP neuroprocessor, which features simple integrate-and-fire neurons and synapses with discrete delays. There are two software repositories to support RISP - one that provides simulation and network manipulation, and one that implements RISP networks on FPGAs. We detail each of these, discuss capacity and performance, and present examples. Highlights include the large networks supported by commodity FPGAs, with tens of thousands of neurons and synapses. The UART communication is a clear bottleneck; however there are multiple straightforward avenues for improving communication.