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Neuromorphic computation is based on spike trains in which the location and frequency of spikes occurring within the network guide the execution. This paper develops a frame-work to monitor the correctness of a neuromorphic program’s execution using model-based redundancy in which a software-based monitor compares discrepancies between the behavior of neurons mapped to hardware and that predicted by a corresponding mathematical model in real time. Our approach reduces the hardware overhead needed to support the monitoring infrastructure and minimizes intrusion on the executing application. Fault-injection experiments utilizing CARLSim, a high-fidelity SNN simulator, show that the framework achieves high fault coverage using parsimonious models which can operate with low computational overhead in real time. 

The paper develops a methodology for the online built-in self-testing of deep neural network (DNN) accelerators to validate the correct operation with respect to their functional specifications. The DNN of interest is realized in the hardware to perform in-memory computing using non-volatile memory cells as computational units. Assuming a functional fault model, we develop methods to generate pseudorandom and structured test patterns to detect hardware faults. We also develop a test-sequencing strategy that combines these different classes of tests to achieve high fault coverage. The testing methodology is applied to a broad class of DNNs trained to classify images from the MNIST, Fashion-MNIST, and CIFAR-10 datasets. The goal is to expose hardware faults which may lead to the incorrect classification of images. We achieve an average fault coverage of 94% for these different architectures, some of which are large and complex.