  Since the beginning of information processing by electronic components, the
nervous system has served as a metaphor for the organization of computational
primitives. Brain-inspired computing today encompasses a class of approaches
ranging from using novel nano-devices for computation to research into
large-scale neuromorphic architectures, such as TrueNorth, SpiNNaker,
BrainScaleS, Tianjic, and Loihi. While implementation details differ, spiking
neural networks - sometimes referred to as the third generation of neural
networks - are the common abstraction used to model computation with such
systems. Here we describe the second generation of the BrainScaleS neuromorphic
architecture, emphasizing applications enabled by this architecture. It
combines a custom analog accelerator core supporting the accelerated physical
emulation of bio-inspired spiking neural network primitives with a tightly
coupled digital processor and a digital event-routing network.
