Sorting method, operation method and operation apparatus for convolutional neural network

A data sorting method for a convolutional neural network, comprising:

• acquiring first convolutional kernel data;
• splitting the first convolutional kernel data into a plurality of second weighting vectors in a channel direction;
• generating a plurality of marking sequences corresponding to the second weighting vectors according to positions of zero weightings in the second weighting vectors;
• performing a sorting process on weighting values in the second weighting vectors according to the marking sequences so that the zero weightings are arranged on one ends of the second weighting vectors;
• and
• removing at least one zero weighting arranged on the one ends of the second weighting vectors to obtain a plurality of corresponding first weighting vectors;
• wherein, the first weighting vectors form the convolutional kernel data having undergone the sorting process. The data sorting method for a convolutional neural network according to claim 6, wherein the first weighting vectors have a same length.

An operation apparatus for a convolutional neural network, applied to an electronic apparatus, a memory in the electronic apparatus storing convolutional kernel data having undergone a sorting process, the operation apparatus comprising:

• a sorting circuit, performing the sorting process on a first feature vector of feature map data under process according to a marking sequence corresponding to a first weighting vector of the convolutional kernel data having undergone the sorting process, and removing a part of feature values in the first feature vector having undergone the sorting process to generate a second feature vector;
• and
• a multiply accumulation operation circuit, performing a multiply accumulation operation on the basis of the first weighting vector and the second feature vector;
• wherein, the convolutional kernel data having undergone the sorting process is obtained by means of sorting and zero-weighting removal processes, and the marking sequence is generated according to the sorting and zero-weighting removal processes corresponding to the first weighting vector.