Sector News

Aaeon uses Jetson TX2 for AI edge computing

Thu, Aug 15, 2019

Embedded computer specialisr, Aaeon, has introduced the Boxer-8170AI, for artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge networks.

The embedded computer is based on Nvidia’s Jetson TX2 and has four PoE LAN ports and four USB 3.0 ports.

At the heart of the computer is the Nvidia Jetson TX2 6-core processor, created by pairing the dual Denver 2 and quad Arm 57 processors into a single system on chip (SoC). The design has up to 256 CUDA cores which provide speed and performance to power AI at the edge, says Aaeon. The Boxer-8170AI comes with 8Gbyte LPDDR4 memory and 32Gbyte eMMC storage on-board. It supports AI frameworks such as TensorFlow and Caffe, as well as AI inference software from developers and customers.

The Boxer-8170AI’s four PoE LAN ports each have their own dedicated chip. This allows for higher bandwidth and stability for each port, allowing PoE cameras to operate individually on dedicated connections, explains Aaeon. The Boxer-8170AI supports a maximum output of 60W for up to four PoE cameras. It can be used for a range of AI solutions incorporating PoE cameras such as smart retail, virtual fences, and access control.

I/O features include four USB 3.0 ports, allowing for additional cameras or devices to be connected to the system. The Boxer-8170AI also features two COM ports for easy integration into industrial systems, two HDMI ports, and remote on/off. The Boxer-8170AI connects to networks with a Gigabit LAN port and two antenna ports to connect to wireless networks or act as an artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) gateway. The BOXER-8170AI also features an SD Card slot and USB on-the-go (OTG) for easy maintenance.

For operation in harsh environments, the Boxer-8170AI has a fanless design and all- aluminium chassis to protect the system from dust, vibration and other hazards. The Boxer-8170AI operates in temperatures from -20 to +50 degrees C and has an input voltage range of 12 to 24V DC.

The company module is only 48 mm thick, to fit into almost the constrained space needed to power AI edge applications.

Established in 1992, Aaeon designs and manufactures professional IoT solutions. It is committed to innovative engineering and provides reliable computing platforms, including industrial motherboards and systems, industrial displays, rugged tablets, embedded controllers, network appliances and related accessories, as well as integrated solutions.

The company is an Associate Member of the Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance.

http://www.aaeon.com

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Secure flash memory enhances secure data storage in self-driving cars

Tue, Aug 13, 2019

Macronix’s secure flash memory has been integrated in Nvidia’s next-generation autonomous driving platforms.

The automotive-grade ArmorFlash memory is being used on the Nvidia Drive AGX Xavier and Drive AGX Pegasus autonomous vehicle computing platforms.

The ArmorFlash memory is secure for data storage in the artificial intelligence (AI)-based Level 2+ advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) through to Level 5 autonomous driving.   

“Our efforts in conjunction with NVIDIA are singularly focused on elevating the security of data in AI-based autonomous driving applications and ultimately, to enhance the safety of drivers,” said Anthony Le, vice president of marketing, Macronix America.

The ArmorFlash memory on the Drive AGX Xavier and Pegasus platforms can provide trusted identification, authentication and encryption features for autonomous driving security requirements.

ArmorFlash offers a combination of mature security technologies, including unique ID, authentication and encryption features. This blend of features enables superior levels of security in a high-density memory device to prevent data from being compromised, claims Macronix.

The ArmorFlash device provides trusted NVM storage of encrypted and integrity-protected assets. The ArmorFlash supports secure communication channel and protocol with the Nvidia Xavier system on a chip (SoC) via cryptographic operations, integrity checks and additional measures against certain security protocol attacks.

The global ADAS market is expected to exceed $67 billion by 2025, fuelled by a compounded annual growth rate of 19 per cent, according to Grand View Research. The research company attributes the growth to increasing government initiatives mandating driver assistance system to lower road accidents and cites expanding adoption of ADAS in small cars as a factor boosting market demand.

http://www.macronix.com

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Speech inference is optimised for Intel FPGA PAC to save power demands

Tue, Aug 13, 2019

To save electricity consumption and to reduce data centre infrastructure, Myrtle announces that its artificial intelligence (AI) can run on the new, high-performance Intel FPGA Programmable Acceleration Card (Intel FPGA PAC) D5005 accelerator. The result is to reduce costs and remove growth constraints for businesses offering speech services such as transcription, translation, synthesis or voice assistance in on-premise or cloud-based data centres, says the AI specialist.

Intel and Myrtle have worked together to optimise a recurrent neural network (RNN) for speech inference on the Intel FPGA PAC D5005. The collaboration can run more than 4,000 voice channels concurrently on one FPGA, leading to a six-fold improvement in performance per watt compared with general purpose GPUs with a latency of one 30th that of a GPU, reports Myrtle.

“The industry has to take new approaches to produce machine learning solutions that meet customers’ stringent latency, power and cost constraints”, said Peter Baldwin, CEO, Myrtle. He added that these performance metrics on Intel’s latest PCA will allow customers preserve their investment in hardware as machine learning models evolve.

Myrtle specialises in hardware-software codesign. The quantisation, sparsity and compression of machine learning models has been recognised by the MLPerf consortium. Myrtle dominates MLPerf speech transcription and has open sourced its code to help the industry benchmark new edge and data centre hardware more consistently, says the company.

Myrtle creates high-performance, energy-efficient computing solutions for deep learning inferencing on next-generation data centre hardware. Myrtle’s RNN technology enables companies to cost-efficiently implement and scale speech applications on cloud or on-premise infrastructure.

Myrtle is a partner in Intel’s design solutions network (DSN).

http://www.myrtle.ai

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Integrated Optical Module Reduces Smoke Detector False Alarms

Mon, Aug 12, 2019

Analog Devices, has introduced the ADPD188BI, an integrated optical module featuring two LEDs, photodiode, and analog front-end (AFE) integrated together in a single package. The high performing AFE offers high ambient light rejection and reduces power consumption to support longer battery life. The two LEDs help reduce false alarms often caused by steam and dust. False alarms are a leading factor in detectors being removed or disabled by consumers. According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly one in four deaths (23%) in the United States occurred where smoke detectors were not working or disable

View the product page, download the data sheet and order samples: http://www.analog.com/ADPD188BI

The ADPD188BI is engineered to meet new UL217 requirements as well as EN54/14604 specifications. Its integrated design uses two colors to separate particle sizes, increasing the ability to detect and classify smoke types and reject nuisance sources.  The ADI solution enables a back-scattering design with closer proximity of the LED to the photodiode, reducing circuit board size and allowing for smaller smoke detectors that are more architecturally compatible for residential and commercial use.

ADPD188BI Product Highlights:

  • • 3.8 mm × 5.0 mm × 0.9 mm module with integrated optical components
  • • Blue (470 nm) and IR (850 nm) LED
  • • Two external sensor inputs
  • • Three 370 mA LED drivers
  • • 20-bit burst accumulator enabling 20 bits per sample period
  • • On-board sample to sample accumulator enabling up to 27 bits per data read
  • • Optimized SNR for signal limited cases
  • • I2C or SPI communications

Pricing and Availability

Product

Full Production

Price Each Per 1,000

Packaging

ADPD188BI

Now

$4.00

24-lead 3.8 x 5.0mm LGA

About Analog Devices

Analog Devices is the leading global high-performance analog technology company dedicated to solving the toughest engineering challenges. We enable our customers to interpret the world around us by intelligently bridging the physical and digital with unmatched technologies that sense, measure, power, connect and interpret. Visit http://www.analog.com.

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