SoC handles edge AI apps in event detection, pressure sensing, gesture recognition, sensor fusion

Syntiant Corp announced its new Syntiant NDP102 Neural Decision Processor (NDP) for sensor applications that deliver 100x improvement in efficiency and performance compared to current MCU-based offerings.

Capable of performing sensor processing at under 100 microwatts, the NDP102 can operate as a standalone SoC solution or as the always-on component of a larger system. With a package size as small as 1.71 mm x 2.51 mm, the NDP102 can be used in a variety of edge AI applications, such as event detection, pressure sensing, gesture recognition, sensor fusion, and other condition-based monitoring use cases.

Syntiant’s architecture enables machine learning workloads that are typically run on cloud servers to be performed on-device in the always-on domain. The NDP102 allows critical and time-sensitive decisions to be made faster, more reliably, and with greater security, such as remote patient monitoring in next-generation medical devices, or event detection in smart homes. Syntiant’s NDP102 can continuously monitor vibrations or temperature to detect and act on any anomaly before costly downtime failures occur.

The NDP102 provides a self-contained solution for always-on sensor processing. Leveraging the Syntiant Core 1 architecture, the NDP102’s native neural network processing capabilities eliminate the need for intermediate compilers and work seamlessly with popular machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, which greatly reduces time to market and helps assure expected performance.

Key features include: Under 100μW active power consumption in always-on sensor applications; 1.71 mm x 2.51 mm 20-pin eWLB package (0.4 mm ball pitch); Syntiant Core 1 neural processor; Hardware feature extraction up to 100Hz frame rate and up to 40 frequency bins per frame; Deeply embedded Arm Cortex-M0 processor with 112KB SRAM; Six GPIO pins with programmable direction and drive strength;  Fully connected network, supporting up to 589k parameters; I2C serial interface option for sensor applications; On-chip programmable clock divider; External serial flash boot;