System semiconductors, including AI-enabled ones, represent the future growth driver that has been strategically nurtured by the Korean government. Apple, Samsung Electronics, Intel, Qualcomm, Google, Nvidia and other world-renowned leaders in the electronic computing engineering sector are competing in the system semiconductor industry. Specifically, there is high demand for ultra-low power, ultra-high efficiency system semiconductors  in such emerging fields as next-generation communications, data storage, artificial intelligence, and sensors.

The Embedded Processor & Intelligent Computing (EPIC) Laboratory headed by professor Youngjoo Lee at the Department of Electrical Engineering, POSTECH, is engaged in a range of convergence-driven research to design ultra-high efficiency digital system semiconductors, which is contributing to the improvement of Korea’s competitiveness in so doing. Researchers at the Lab are at the forefront of exploring the design and optimization of the world’s top-notch system semiconductors.

Building upon the wide-ranging research conducted jointly with industries and research institutes, the EPIC LAB is studying AI processing to operate high-performance AI algorithms, even on mobile devices with limited power consumption and computing performance. Existing processor semiconductors require large-scale computation and memory capabilities, which lead to exponential increases in power consumption. Furthermore, ‘Deep Neural Network (DNN)’ algorithms deployed to deliver present day AI algorithms cannot be operated on mobile devices limited in power consumption or computing capability.

The EPIC LAB moves beyond the conventional DNN research methodology to leverage its optimization methodology that considers the hardware structures even from the algorithm stage. It also is able to present ultra-high efficiency DNN accelerator design solutions that support the analysis of images as well as audio and sensor data.

Furthermore, the Lab is producing remarkable outcomes in the 5G mobile communications sector, as 5G technology has become commercialized for the first time in the world in Korea. Researchers are probing into communications signal processing algorithms that dramatically improve the efficiency of 5G communications, and are taking the lead in optimizing algorithms to overcome the limitations of hardware and designing in ultra-high efficiency system semiconductors.

The EPIC LAB directs a wide spectrum of convergence-driven research on the basis of system semiconductors. The Lab is engaged in research associated with the sports engineering, biomedical and healthcare sectors and is raising the bar on integrative semiconductor research.