一句话：提出首个面向多层级脑机接口系统的仿真框架 TierX，用于探索工作负载划分与系统配置的设计空间。
脑机接口在神经科学与临床应用推动下进展迅速，但实际部署要求底层处理系统满足严格的延迟与功耗预算。现有 BCI 系统通常依赖单一处理节点承担全部负载，难以在多样化的应用场景中同时满足这些约束。本文提出 TierX，这是首个面向多层级 BCI 系统设计空间探索的仿真框架。TierX 对跨层级的异构处理节点进行建模，包括植入式处理器、体表佩戴设备与外部服务器，并涵盖多种通信与供电方式。基于该模型，框架能够在庞大的设计空间中搜索最优的工作负载划分方案与系统配置，从而充分发挥各层级的优势。作者在代表性系统配置上对 TierX 进行了验证，并在多种用例中展示了其有效性。
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have made remarkable progress in recent years, driven by advances in neuroscience and clinical applications. For practical use, underlying processing systems must meet strict latency and power budgets. However, existing BCI systems typically rely on a single processing node to handle the entire workload, making it difficult to satisfy these budgets across diverse applications. In this work, we present TierX, the first simulation framework for design space exploration of multi-tier BCI systems. TierX models heterogeneous processing nodes across tiers, including implanted processors, body-attached devices, and external servers, together with diverse communication and powering methods. It navigates the extensive design space to identify optimal (1) workload partitioning options and (2) system configurations that leverage the strengths of each tier. We validate TierX on representative system configurations and demonstrate its effectiveness across diverse use cases.
@inproceedings{SongJJPKKLYK26,
title = {TierX: A Simulation Framework for Multi-tier BCI System Design Evaluation and Exploration},
author = {Seunghyun Song and Yeongwoo Jang and Daye Jung and Kyungsoo Park and Donghan Kim and Gwangjin Kim and Hunjun Lee and Jerald Yoo and Jangwoo Kim},
booktitle = {ASPLOS},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1145/3779212.3790234}
}