SiFive and BrainChip Partner to Demo IP Compatibility
By Sally Ward-Foxton
April 20, 2022
SiFive and BrainChip have partnered to show their IP is compatible in SoC designs for embedded artificial intelligence (AI). The companies have demonstrated BrainChip’s neuromorphic processing unit (NPU) IP working alongside SiFive’s RISC–V host processor IP.
Brainchip’s NPU processor IP, the basis for its Akida chip, is a neuromorphic processor designed to accelerate spiking neural networks. This IP can be used to analyze inputs from most sensor types, including cameras, to provide ultra–low power analysis in real–time applications. A recent BrainChip demo showed its Akida chip in a vehicle, detecting the driver, recognizing the driver’s face, and identifying their voice simultaneously. Keyword spotting required 600 µW, facial recognition needed 22 mW, and the visual wake–word inference used to detect the driver was 6–8 mW.
