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From: haroun@sunlite.concordia.ca (Dr. B. Haroun )
Newsgroups: comp.ai.neural-nets
Subject: Choosing a NN-Simulator/hardware accelerator...
Summary: NN hardware accelerator.
Keywords: Simulator, neural net,hardware
Message-ID: <915@antares.Concordia.CA>
Date: 2 Apr 91 23:45:17 GMT
References: <13922@helios.TAMU.EDU>
Sender: news@Antares.Concordia.CA
Reply-To: haroun@sunlite.Concordia.CA (B. Haroun )
Organization: Concordia University, Montreal Quebec
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Nntp-Posting-Host: sunlite.concordia.ca


We are in the process of buying a hardware accelerator for NN
board from a company called "SAIC" (Scientific Application Int. Corp)
The Package includes
  1-Delta-II  FP processor (11M connections/sec and 2.7M cps for back
              propagation). If you buy it with an IBM PC it is 
              called SAIC-II workstation.
  2-ANS-kit   Software tool kit to configure different types of nets
              (13 types). Operating system, assembler, C compiler
               ANSPEC high level NN language, etc.. 
  3-Interface  Interace board for interactin with A/D converters
               and an Image frame grabber.
Depending on your options we are speaking of a cost in the range
of US$30-50K.
The application area we are looking at is a real time 
Robotic manipulator control (also some related pattern recognition 
problems).

My questions to the net land is:
a-Does any one have experience with the above hardware/software
environment?
b- Do you know of an equally powerful hardware software environment?

Any comments appreciated.(email to haroun@sunlite.concordia.ca).
Thanks
Baher Haroun

-- 
Baher Haroun
haroun@sunlite.concordia.ca