BiKA: Kolmogorov-Arnold-Network-inspired Ultra Lightweight Neural Network Hardware Accelerator

Research output: Contribution to book/Conference proceedings/Anthology/Report › Conference contribution › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Lightweight neural network accelerators are essential for edge devices with limited resources and power constraints. While quantization and binarization can efficiently reduce hardware cost, they still rely on the conventional Artificial Neural Network (ANN) computation pattern. The recently proposed Kolmogorov-Arnold Network (KAN) presents a novel network paradigm built on learnable nonlinear functions. However, it is computationally expensive for hardware deployment. Inspired by KAN, we propose BiKA, a multiply-free architecture that replaces nonlinear functions with binary, learnable thresholds, introducing an extremely lightweight computational pattern that requires only comparators and accumulators. Our FPGA prototype on Ultra96-V2 shows that BiKA reduces hardware resource usage by 27.73% and 51.54% compared with binarized and quantized neural network systolic array accelerators, while maintaining competitive accuracy. BiKA provides a promising direction for hardware-friendly neural network design on edge devices.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 27th International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design, ISQED 2026
PublisherIEEE Computer Society
Pages1-9
ISBN (electronic)979-8-3315-8361-3
ISBN (print)979-8-3315-8362-0
Publication statusPublished - 28 May 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

Publication series

SeriesIEEE International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design
ISSN1948-3287

Conference

Title27th International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design
Abbreviated titleISQED 2026
Conference number27
Duration8 - 10 April 2026
Website
LocationSeven Hills Conference Center
CitySan Francisco
CountryUnited States of America