An introduction to approximate computing

Abstract: Approximate computing is a research area where we investigate a wide spectrum of techniques to trade off computation accuracy for better performance or energy consumption. In this work, we provide a general introduction to approximate computing. Also, we propose a taxonomy to make it easier to discuss the merits of different approximation techniques. Our taxonomy emphasizes the expected cost of tackling approximate computing across the entire system stack. We conclude by discussing the unique opportunities as well as challenges of nondeterministic approximate computing.