According to BrainChip, a provider of ultra-low power high performance artificial intelligence technology and neuromorphic AI chips and IP, the AKD1000-powered Mini PCIe boards can be plugged into a developer’s existing system to unlock capabilities for a wide array of edge AI applications, including Smart City, Smart Health, Smart Home and Smart Transportation.
BrainChip said that it would also be offering the full PCIe design layout files and the bill of materials (BOM) to system integrators and developers to enable them to build their own boards and implement AKD1000 chips in volume as a stand-alone embedded accelerator or as a co-processor.
The new boards are being seen as helping to usher in a new era of AI at the edge due to their performance, security, low power requirements, and the ability to perform AI training and learning on the device itself, without dependency on the cloud. The production-ready chips provide high-speed neuromorphic processing of sensor data at a low cost, high speed and very low power consumption.
“I am excited that people will finally be able to enjoy a world where AI meets the Internet of Things,” said Sean Hehir, BrainChip CEO. “We have been working on developing our Akida technology for more than a decade and with the full commercial availability of our AKD1000, we are ready to fully execute on our vision. Other technologies are simply not capable of the autonomous, incremental learning at ultra-low power consumption that BrainChip’s solutions can provide. Getting these chips into as many hands as possible is how the next generation of AI becomes reality.”
The launch of BrainChip’s PCIe board closely follows the company's development kit offerings introduced in October last year. The two development kits – an x86 Shuttle PC development kit, as well as an ARM-based Raspberry Pi development kit – both include the AKD1000 chip on a Mini PCIe board and are available to partners, large enterprises and OEMs.
