Nvidia patents AI tool to predict chip power usage from design files
Nvidia describes a system that uses a graph neural network to estimate how much power a computer chip will use. It analyzes the chip's design blueprint, known as a netlist, along with data on how often its internal parts switch on and off. The model predicts power consumption for different scenarios without needing to run full simulations every time.
In the filing’s own words
A graph neural network for average power estimation of netlists is trained with register toggle rates over a power window from an RTL simulation and gate level netlists as input features. Combinational gate toggle rates are applied as labels. The trained graph neural network is then applied to infer combinational gate toggle rates over a different power window of interest and/or different netlist.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer system comprising: at least one data processor; a machine memory; a machine-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one data processor, forms in the machine memory a neural network comprising: a fully-connected input layer configured to transform a netlist, input port toggle rates, and register toggle rates for an electronic circuit into inputs to a graph neural network; the graph neural network configured to transform a graph of the netlist, the input port toggle rates, and the register toggle rates into first inferred gate toggle rates for combinatorial elements of the electronic circuit in a power window; and at least one fully-connected output layer configured to transform the first inferred gate toggle rates into second inferred gate toggle rates for the combinatorial elements of the electronic circuit.
Facts
- Company
- Nvidia (NVIDIA Corp.)
- Official title
- Average power estimation using graph neural networks
- Patent number
- US12748943B2
- Application number
- 16992354
- Filed
- Aug 13, 2020
- Granted
- Sep 29, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 12
Classified under
G06N 3/04 Physics & computingG06F 11/3062 Physics & computingG06F 11/348 Physics & computingG06F 18/29 Physics & computingG06N 3/048 Physics & computingG06N 3/08 Physics & computingMore from Nvidia in AI & software
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.