BrainChip has become the latest edge AI chip maker to make its...

BrainChip has become the latest edge AI chip maker to make its chips available in an “edge box” appliance, via Indian ODM VVDN.

Edge boxes are small standalone systems for AI acceleration, typically used for multi-camera video analytics in smart city or surveillance applications, or in industrial applications where sensor data is aggregated for analysis. They’re becoming an increasingly popular path to market for edge AI chip makers.

BrainChip will continue to offer first- and second-generation Akida chips and licenses for its Akida IP for SoC designs. The new edge box, which will be available from BrainChip and VVDN, doesn’t represent a pivot for the company, simply another path to market, BrainChip CMO Nandan Nayampally told EE Times.

“At the edge, silicon and actual usable platforms are at a premium to some extent…the [edge box] helps us proliferate our tech, and it helps ODM box makers build out scale,” he said. “VVDN is one of the top box makers and they are providing boxes to OEMs and brands, but they are also looking at growing their own capabilities, because they see markets there…they see markets they can grow into if they scale. So this is a path for us both to proliferate our tech, improve revenue structures, and improve software and applications.”

The aim is for VVDN to offer the BrainChip box to its existing retail customers, but it will also be available on the BrainChip website to drive proof-of-concept activity and seed the market for BrainChip’s silicon and IP products, Rob Telson, VP of ecosystem and partnerships at BrainChip, told EE Times.

“We are expecting buyers to come and buy five to 10 boxes [from BrainChip], to start working in their environment,” Telson said. “We have a pipeline of customers that we’ve already engaged with, users of our development boards [who are happy to engage in that way], so we see that activity alongside what VVDN is doing to drive the box.”

Telson explained that despite strong offerings in the edge AI chip space, volume orders for these chips are still a way away.

“There are dozens of [edge chip] companies out there, and everyone’s doing something really good, they are innovating, but the truth is, unless it’s a plug and play device, no-one is making progress,” he said.

VVDN’s existing range of edge boxes focuses mainly on high-performance solutions from Nvidia, targeting security and surveillance applications, with price points in the $1000-2000 range. VVDN wanted to target a slightly different market with Akida, which will go on sale at $799.

“The intention is to hit a lower price point [than available offerings], go to volume and target retail security and inventory management in real time,” Telson said.

Big retailers use video analytics to learn about buyer behavior and for security. Vision in healthcare is also an important market for BrainChip since neuromorphic computing works well with event-based DVS sensors or time-of-flight sensors, perhaps providing fall detection while preserving patient privacy and not needing a cloud connection.

“We’ve started to see this pipeline grow from retail to other specialized high-volume areas where you’re leveraging the AI engine to be able to process information in a way others can’t,” Telson said. “[Neuromorphic technology] also started to pick up momentum in the home—one of these boxes with four cameras hooked up to it gives you your own personal security and surveillance environment without sending data to the cloud.”

BrainChip’s multi-modality, as well as its edge learning capabilities, will be attractive to edge box customers, Telson said.

“[Competitors are] focused on vision…and they are doing good stuff, but the fact of the matter is, when these boxes and the devices go into real world applications, you’re going to want to be able to analyze beyond vision, you’re going to want to analyze voices, sounds and other aspects like vibration,” he said.

The VVDN and BrainChip edge box features an NXP i.MX 8M+ application processor with four Arm Cortex A53 cores alongside two BrainChip AKD1000 chips based on BrainChip’s first generation technology. It also has 4GB LPDDR4 memory, built-in Ethernet, WiFi, HDMI display support, extensible storage and a USB interface.

Future VVDN and BrainChip boxes could use BrainChip’s second-gen AKD1500, which is more compact and efficient, Telson said.