NVIDIA Corporation
Stochastic rounding of numerical values

Abstract:

A method, computer readable medium, and system are disclosed for rounding numerical values. A set of bits from an input value is identified as a rounding value. A second set of bits representing a second value is extracted from the input value and added with the rounding value to produce a sum. The sum is truncated to produce the rounded output value. Thus, the present invention provides a stochastic rounding technique that rounds up an input value as a function of a second value and a rounding value, both of which were obtained from the input value. When the second value and rounding value are obtained from consistent bit locations of the input value, the resulting output value is deterministic. Stochastic rounding, which is deterministic, is advantageously applicable in deep learning applications.