COMPUTING AT THE EDGE: THE ROLE OF NEUROMORPHIC CHIPS IN INTELLIGENT ROBOTICS
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Autonomous Robotics, Edge Computing, Energy Efficiency, Neuromorphic Chips, Spiking Neural Networks
Abstract
The deployment of autonomous mobile robots in resource-constrained environments is currently impeded by the excessive power consumption and latency bottlenecks of traditional Von Neumann architectures. This study investigates the efficacy of neuromorphic computing as a hardware solution for low-power, low-latency edge intelligence, specifically focusing on obstacle avoidance and navigational endurance. A quantitative comparative analysis was conducted benchmarking a Spiking Neural Network (SNN) based control architecture against standard embedded GPU solutions, utilizing event-based vision sensors to evaluate energy efficiency, inference latency, and task success rates. Empirical results demonstrate that the neuromorphic architecture achieved a twenty-fold reduction in power consumption (0.25 W) and sub-millisecond latency, significantly outperforming synchronous baselines while maintaining a 98.2% navigational success rate. The findings validate event-driven processing as a superior paradigm for edge robotics, offering a sustainable path toward "Green Robotics" with extended operational autonomy independent of cloud connectivity.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Manivone Keolavong, Soneva Vong, Thipphavone Phoutthavong
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