2. Introducing the perspective of the computer architect

Acquiring the capability to spatially and temporally manipulate electrons within integrated circuits which typically comprise billions of transistors has changed the course of human society and practically defined the digital age. However, advancements in the fabrication of integrated circuits, which for two decades were driven by Dennard Scaling and Moore’s law, are slowly declining due to quantum and power constraints. One promising direction for architectural chip design which aims at pro- viding computational resources with low energy and high performance is neuromorphic engineering. This chapter will introduce the computer architect’s perspective on neuromorphic engineering which aims to provide advanced computational resources with low energy and high efficiency. We will discuss some of the limitations in designing integrated circuits, understand the architectural rationale of neuromorphic designs, and introduce some of the prominent neuromorphic frameworks currently available.