Research Article

Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors

Volume: 14 Number: 2 April 19, 2026
TR EN

Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors

Abstract

Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) have gained popularity again due to the increasing interest and developments in artificial intelligence, as well as the increased computational power offered by High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. Since neural network applications are used in large data centers and HPC systems, they face similar reliability issues such as bit slippage in registers and memory structures that are common in these systems. Therefore, they require special robustness and protection mechanisms that can significantly increase the system cost. However, understanding the impact of hardware failures on different components of ANN applications can help determine which parts are more vulnerable and require higher reliability. In this study, the effects of hardware faults on ANN applications when they are run in HPC systems and large-scale data centers are evaluated, and thus, the reliability costs are aimed to be reduced. Fault injection experiments performed with traditional techniques can be quite time-consuming for ANN applications. Therefore, a method is presented to reduce the fault injection time in such applications. When we evaluate the effects of hardware faults on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) applications running on CPU-based (Intel Xeon) and GPU-based (NVIDIA V100) high-performance computing (HPC) systems, our results show that ANNs are vulnerable to some hardware faults, especially those occurring in certain layers and architectural registers.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

This research received no external funding.

Ethical Statement

This study does not involve human or animal participants. All procedures followed scientific and ethical principles, and all referenced studies are appropriately cited.

Thanks

The authors declare that there are no acknowledgements.

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Machine Learning Algorithms

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

April 19, 2026

Submission Date

September 29, 2025

Acceptance Date

February 24, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 14 Number: 2

APA
Aktaş Aydın, H., Kahira, A. N., Yalçın, G., & Ünsal, O. (2026). Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology, 14(2), 537-550. https://doi.org/10.29130/dubited.1793166
AMA
1.Aktaş Aydın H, Kahira AN, Yalçın G, Ünsal O. Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors. DUBİTED. 2026;14(2):537-550. doi:10.29130/dubited.1793166
Chicago
Aktaş Aydın, Hatice, Albert Njoroge Kahira, Gülay Yalçın, and Osman Ünsal. 2026. “Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors”. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology 14 (2): 537-50. https://doi.org/10.29130/dubited.1793166.
EndNote
Aktaş Aydın H, Kahira AN, Yalçın G, Ünsal O (April 1, 2026) Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology 14 2 537–550.
IEEE
[1]H. Aktaş Aydın, A. N. Kahira, G. Yalçın, and O. Ünsal, “Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors”, DUBİTED, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 537–550, Apr. 2026, doi: 10.29130/dubited.1793166.
ISNAD
Aktaş Aydın, Hatice - Kahira, Albert Njoroge - Yalçın, Gülay - Ünsal, Osman. “Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors”. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology 14/2 (April 1, 2026): 537-550. https://doi.org/10.29130/dubited.1793166.
JAMA
1.Aktaş Aydın H, Kahira AN, Yalçın G, Ünsal O. Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors. DUBİTED. 2026;14:537–550.
MLA
Aktaş Aydın, Hatice, et al. “Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors”. Duzce University Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 14, no. 2, Apr. 2026, pp. 537-50, doi:10.29130/dubited.1793166.
Vancouver
1.Hatice Aktaş Aydın, Albert Njoroge Kahira, Gülay Yalçın, Osman Ünsal. Evaluating the Fault Tolerance and Vulnerability of Artificial Neural Networks Under Hardware Errors. DUBİTED. 2026 Apr. 1;14(2):537-50. doi:10.29130/dubited.1793166