To address the needs of edge computing applications in the automotive, medical, and aerospace sectors, Xilinx has announced the launch of the new Versal AI Edge series of chips, which boast a 4x improvement in AI performance and power consumption compared to GPU-accelerated AI. The chips also boast a 10x increase in computing density compared to the previous generation, and an FPGA architecture allows for more flexible and scalable deployment.
The Versal AI Edge series chips can be used in autonomous driving, collaborative robot operations, building automated smart factories, or assisting medical operations through artificial intelligence systems. They can even be used in multi-mission payloads in the aerospace and defense fields.
Compared to previous AI engines, Xilinx emphasizes that the new Versal AI Edge series chips can correspond to 4 times the machine learning computing power, and integrate the new accelerator RAM with the enhanced memory layer to achieve 4 times the AI performance and power consumption ratio compared to GPU acceleration, thereby promoting the AI performance of edge computing.
The Versal AI Edge series is built on the 7nm Versal architecture, boasting a power efficiency of just 6W, meeting the requirements of edge computing devices. It also features a scalar engine for embedded computing and an adaptive engine for sensor fusion and hardware self-adaptation. It also boasts an artificial intelligence engine with inference capabilities up to 479 (INT4) TOPS, supporting advanced signal processing workloads such as vision, radar, and lidar processing, as well as software-defined radio. Therefore, it can be widely used in vehicle systems with autonomous driving capabilities.
Xilinx also provides a design entry pipeline for developers, enabling both software and hardware developers to easily create various edge computing applications using the Versal AI Edge series chips. The Versal AI Edge series chips are expected to begin shipping in the first half of 2022, and relevant design documentation and technical support are currently available to some customers.
