There was a few posts in the other thread discussing Intel's money and size and comparing it to BrainChip. There was a suggestion that David had no chance of beating Goliath. I wanted to bring a few points together to make our first mover advantage obvious enough to understand the headstart we have over these giants and also the fact that we are already 'stealing' customers.
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IBM TrueNorth
Recently it was brought to our attention that
Information Systems Lab was utilising Akida for their A.I based radar applications. I am fairly certain I have uncovered the related research project and affiliations here in this thread:
AFWERX Agility Prime – A New Era of Aerospace
What is interesting, is that the AFRL has been working with IBM's TrueNorth for many years. eg.
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/...-neuromorphic-digital-synaptic-supercomputer/
There is some other research related to using TrueNorth with radar applications, so this means that the AFRL understand exactly what TrueNorth is capable of.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8916311
Low Power Computing and Simultaneous Electro-Optical/Radar Data Processing using IBM’s NS16e 16-chip Neuromorphic Hardware
with all authors having affiliations with
Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, Rome, USA
So there has been a conscious decision made to step away from TrueNorth - at least for this specific application. Its important to remember that TrueNorth was DARPAs baby.
My question is: Can we now assume that
all projects that have been utilising TrueNorth within the AFRL are going to be shifted over to the commercially ready Akida architecture - given the obvious advantages that Akida offers over TrueNorth?
Specifically I am thinking of this project from the AFRL:
This is a project I am watching closely.
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Intel Loihi
Watching the neuromorphic patents closely, I noticed that during the application process for Intel's neuromorphic keyword spotting patent, they had actually been knocked back for a couple of very important features - the patent officer had referenced BrainChip's own keyword spotting patent.
You can follow the links to global dossier to read the complete back and forth, but here is a summary:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10403266B2/en
Detecting keywords in audio using a spiking neural network
Current Assignee Intel Corp
Abstract
An example apparatus for detecting keywords in audio includes an audio receiver to receive audio comprising a keyword to be detected. The apparatus also includes a spike transducer to convert the audio into a plurality of spikes. The apparatus further includes a spiking neural network to receive one or more of the spikes and generate a spike corresponding to a detected keyword.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10157629B2/en
Low power neuromorphic voice activation system and method
Current Assignee Brainchip Inc
Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for controlling a device by recognizing voice commands through a spiking neural network. The system comprises a spiking neural adaptive processor receiving an input stream that is being forwarded from a microphone, a decimation filter and then an artificial cochlea. The spiking neural adaptive processor further comprises a first spiking neural network and a second spiking neural network. The first spiking neural network checks for voice activities in output spikes received from artificial cochlea. If any voice activity is detected, it activates the second spiking neural network and passes the output spike of the artificial cochlea to the second spiking neural network that is further configured to recognize spike patterns indicative of specific voice commands. If the first spiking neural network does not detect any voice activity, it halts the second spiking neural network
What is interesting is that Mercedes has been a memeber of the Intels Neuromorphic Research Community:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-releases-new-benchmarks-progress-on-loihi-neuromorphic-computing-chip/
Intel, partners make new strides in Loihi neuromorphic computing chip development
Since its launch in 2018, the INRC has signed up over 100 members including Accenture, Airbus, GE, Berkeley, and Washington State University. Now, Lenovo, Logitech, Mercedes-Benz and Prophesee have added themselves to the roster.
But the specific use-case that Mercedes has mentioned they are using with the Akida chip is Keyword spotting:
https://www.pymnts.com/commerce-connected/2022/in-car-voice-makes-itself-heard-at-ces/
In-Car Voice Makes Itself Heard at CES
The second voice-related technology previewed by Mercedes-Benz features neuromorphic computing, a form of information processing that reduces energy consumption, and AI software and hardware from BrainChip that is five to 10 times more efficient than conventional voice control.
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So this is two perfect examples of how BrainChip has effectively 'snatched' food off the plate from IBM and Intel. So we are first to market and we have functionality that no other company can offer. These two examples demonstrate how BrainChip made IBM and Intel a cuckold.
These giants have been warming up the seat for Akida and BrainChip is about to start cutting everyones grass.
Akida has the superior stats, edge learning, on-chip convolution, one-shot learning, super cheap to manufacture and its market ready now.
(20min delay)