Toward Fully Neuromorphic Receivers for Ultra-Power Efficient Communications

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Katsaros, George N., Nikitopoulos, Konstantinos
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Katsaros, George N.
Nikitopoulos, Konstantinos
author_facet Katsaros, George N.
Nikitopoulos, Konstantinos
contents Neuromorphic computing, inspired by biological neural systems, has emerged as a promising approach for ultra-energy-efficient data processing by leveraging analog neuron structures and spike-based computation. However, its application in communication systems remains largely unexplored, with existing efforts mainly focused on mapping isolated communication algorithms onto spiking networks, often accompanied by substantial, traditional computational overhead due to transformations required to adapt problems to the spiking paradigm. In this work, we take a fundamentally different route and, for the first time, propose a fully neuromorphic communication receiver by applying neuromorphic principles directly in the analog domain from the very start of the receiver processing chain. Specifically, we examine a simple transmission scenario: a BPSK receiver with repetition coding, and show that we can achieve joint detection and decoding entirely through spiking signals. Our approach demonstrates error-rate performance gains over conventional digital realizations with power consumption on the order of microwatts, comparable with a single very low-resolution Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) utilized in digital receivers. To maintain performance under varying noise conditions, we also introduce a novel noise-tracking mechanism that dynamically adjusts neural parameters during transmission. Finally, we discuss the key challenges and directions toward ultra-efficient neuromorphic transceivers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_22508
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Toward Fully Neuromorphic Receivers for Ultra-Power Efficient Communications
Katsaros, George N.
Nikitopoulos, Konstantinos
Signal Processing
94A12
C.1.3; C.2.1
Neuromorphic computing, inspired by biological neural systems, has emerged as a promising approach for ultra-energy-efficient data processing by leveraging analog neuron structures and spike-based computation. However, its application in communication systems remains largely unexplored, with existing efforts mainly focused on mapping isolated communication algorithms onto spiking networks, often accompanied by substantial, traditional computational overhead due to transformations required to adapt problems to the spiking paradigm. In this work, we take a fundamentally different route and, for the first time, propose a fully neuromorphic communication receiver by applying neuromorphic principles directly in the analog domain from the very start of the receiver processing chain. Specifically, we examine a simple transmission scenario: a BPSK receiver with repetition coding, and show that we can achieve joint detection and decoding entirely through spiking signals. Our approach demonstrates error-rate performance gains over conventional digital realizations with power consumption on the order of microwatts, comparable with a single very low-resolution Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) utilized in digital receivers. To maintain performance under varying noise conditions, we also introduce a novel noise-tracking mechanism that dynamically adjusts neural parameters during transmission. Finally, we discuss the key challenges and directions toward ultra-efficient neuromorphic transceivers.
title Toward Fully Neuromorphic Receivers for Ultra-Power Efficient Communications
topic Signal Processing
94A12
C.1.3; C.2.1
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.22508