A novel approach to memory power estimation using machine learning

Reducing power consumption has become a priority in microprocessor design as more devices become mobile and as the density and speed of components lead to power dissipation issues. Power allocation strategies for individual components within a chip are being researched to determine optimal configurations to balance power and performance. Modelling and estimation tools are necessary in order to understand the behaviour of energy consumption in a run time environment. This paper discusses a novel approach to power metering by estimating it using a set of observed variables that share a linear or non-linear correlation to the power consumption. The machine learning approaches exploit the statistical relationship among potential variables and power consumption. We show that Support Vector Machine regression (SVR), Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Neural Networks (NN) can all be used to cheaply and easily predict memory power usage based on these observed variables.