Circuit, corresponding device, system and method

A device comprising:

• a set of data memory banks;
• a control unit;
• an interconnect network;
• and
• a set of circuits, each circuit comprising:
• a set of input terminals configured to receive a set of respective input digital signals carrying input data;
• a set of output terminals configured to provide a set of respective output digital signals carrying output data;
• and
• computing circuitry configured to produce the output data as a function of the input data, wherein the computing circuitry comprises:
• a set of multiplier circuits;
• a set of adder-subtractor circuits;
• a set of accumulator circuits;
• and
• a configurable interconnect network configured to selectively couple the multiplier circuits, the adder-subtractor circuits, the accumulator circuits, the input terminals and the output terminals in at least two processing configurations;
• wherein:
• in a first processing configuration, the computing circuitry is configured to compute the output data according to a first set of functions;
• and
• in at least one second processing configuration, the computing circuitry is configured to compute the output data according to a respective second set of functions, the respective second set of functions being different from the first set of functions;
• wherein the set of circuits is configurable to read data from and write data into the data memory banks via the interconnect network as a function of configuration data stored in the control unit.

A system comprising:

• a system interconnect;
• a processing unit;
• a device coupled to processing unit via the system interconnect, wherein the device comprises:
• a set of data memory banks;
• a control unit;
• an interconnect network;
• and
• a set of circuits, each circuit comprising:
• a set of input terminals configured to receive a set of respective input digital signals carrying input data;
• a set of output terminals configured to provide a set of respective output digital signals carrying output data;
• and
• computing circuitry configured to produce the output data as a function of the input data, wherein the computing circuitry comprises:
• a set of multiplier circuits;
• a set of adder-subtractor circuits;
• a set of accumulator circuits;
• and
• a configurable interconnect network configured to selectively couple the multiplier circuits, the adder-subtractor circuits, the accumulator circuits, the input terminals and the output terminals in at least two processing configurations;
• wherein:
• in a first processing configuration, the computing circuitry is configured to compute the output data according to a first set of functions;
• and
• in at least one second processing configuration, the computing circuitry is configured to compute the output data according to a respective second set of functions, the respective second set of functions being different from the first set of functions;
• wherein the set of circuits is configurable to read data from and write data into the data memory banks via the interconnect network as a function of configuration data stored in the control unit;
• and
• wherein the set of circuits are configurable in at least two processing configurations as a function of a control signal received from the processing unit.

A method of operating a circuit comprising a set of input terminals configured to receive a set of respective input digital signals carrying input data, a set of output terminals configured to provide a set of respective output digital signals carrying output data, and computing circuitry configured to produce the output data as a function of the input data, the computing circuitry comprising a set of multiplier circuits, a set of adder-subtractor circuits, a set of accumulator circuits, and a configurable interconnect network configured to selectively couple the multiplier circuits, the adder-subtractor circuits, the accumulator circuits, the input terminals and the output terminals in at least two processing configurations, the computing circuitry configured to compute the output data according to a first set of functions in a first processing configuration, and configured to compute the output data according to a respective second set of functions in at least one second processing configuration, the respective second set of functions being different from the first set of functions, the method comprising:

• partitioning an operation time of the computing circuitry into at least first and second operation intervals;
• operating the computing circuitry in the first processing configuration in the first operation intervals;
• and
• operating the computing circuitry in the at least one second processing configuration in the second operation intervals.