computer vision

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Google AIY Projects Kits are Easier to Use in 2018 with Raspberry Pi Zero WH and All Accessories Included

Google AIY Projects Kits are Easier to Use in 2018 with Raspberry Pi Zero WH and All Accessories Included

Google launched two AIY Projects kits last year with a Voice Kit that took a Raspberry Pi 3 to create a smart speaker, and a Vision kit for hardware accelerated computer vision using a Raspberry Pi Zero W board. Google reports the kits are popular, especially for STEM education,  but educators/parents had to buy the Raspberry Pi boards and micro SD cards themselves, as well as flash the firmware to the cards. So the company decided to redesign both kits to work with the Raspberry Pi Zero WH (RPi Zero W with headers), and include it inside the box with cable and pre-provisioned SD card, so kids can get started faster with experimentation with having to setup the kits. So that means we now have AIY Projects Voice Kit v2 with RPi Zero WH and micro SD card with firmware, as well as  AIY Projects Vision Kit v1.1 with RPi Zero […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments on VIA SOM-9X20 Module Powers Smart Recognition and Smart Machine Vision Platforms

VIA SOM-9X20 Module Powers Smart Recognition and Smart Machine Vision Platforms

At the end of last year, VIA launched SOM-9X20 system-on-module powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor coupled with 4GB PoP LPDDR4 RAM, 64 GB eMMC flash, as well as WiFi + Bluetooth module, and a GNSS/GPS receiver. The company introduced two software platform for the SoM and development kit at embedded world 2018: a Smart Machine Vision Platform for manufacturing management and control systems, and a Smart Recognition Platform for facial recognition, object detection, people counting & tracking, etc… VIA SOM-9X20 module specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad- core processor with 2x high-performance Kryo cores up to 2.15GHz, 2x low power Kryo cores up to 1.593GHz, and Adreno 530 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.1/ GEP, GL4.4, DX11.3/ 4, OpenCL 2.0, Renderscript-Next System Memory – 4 GB POP LPDDR4 RAM Storage – 64 GB eMMC 5.1/ UFS 2.0 flash On-module Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ b/ g/ n/ ac + Bluetooth […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Arm’s Project Trillium Combines Machine Learning and Object Detection Processors with Neural Network Software

Arm’s Project Trillium Combines Machine Learning and Object Detection Processors with Neural Network Software

We’ve already seen Neural Processing Units (NPU) added to Arm processors such as Huawei Kirin 970 or Rockchip RK3399Pro in order to handle the tasks required by machine learning & artificial intelligence in a faster or more power efficient way. Arm has now announced their Project Trillium offering two A.I. processors, with one ML (Machine Learning) processor and one OD (Object Detection) processor, as well as open source Arm NN (Neural Network) software to leverage the ML processor, as well as Arm CPUs and GPUs. Arm ML processor key features and performance: Fixed function engine for the best performance & efficiency for current solutions Programmable layer engine for futureproofing the design Tuned for advance geometry implementations. On-board memory to reduce external memory traffic. Performance / Efficiency – 4.6 TOP/s with an efficiency of 3 TOPs/W for mobile devices and smart IP cameras Scalable design usable for lower requirements IoT (20 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on A Day at Chiang Mai Maker Party 4.0

A Day at Chiang Mai Maker Party 4.0

The Chiang Mai Maker Party 4.0 is now taking place until December 9, and I went there today, as I was especially interested in the scheduled NB-IoT talk and workshop to find out what was the status about LPWA in Thailand. But there are many other activities planned, and if you happen to be in Chiang Main in the next few days, you may want to check out the schedule on the event page or Facebook. I’m going to go though what I’ve done today to give you a better idea about the event, or even the maker movement in Thailand. Booth and activity area should be the same over the 4 days, but the talks, open activity, and workshop will be different each day. Today, people could learn how to solder in the activity area. The even was not really big with manufacturers/sellers like ThaiEasyElec, INEX, or Gravitech closer […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on $45 AIY Vision Kit Adds Accelerated Computer Vision to Raspberry Pi Zero W Board

$45 AIY Vision Kit Adds Accelerated Computer Vision to Raspberry Pi Zero W Board

AIY Projects is an initiative launched by Google that aims to bring do-it yourself artificial intelligence to the maker community by providing affordable development kits to get started with the technology. The first project was AIY Projects Voice Kit, that basically transformed Raspberry Pi 3 board into a Google Home device by adding the necessary hardware to support Google Assistant SDK, and an enclosure. The company has now launched another maker kit with AIY Project Vision Kit that adds a HAT board powered by Intel/Movidius Myriad 2 VPU to Raspberry Pi Zero W, in order to accelerate image & objects recognition using TensorFlow’s machine learning models. The kit includes the following items: Vision Bonnet accessory board powered by Myriad 2 VPU (MA2450) 2x 11mm plastic standoffs 24mm RGB arcade button and nut 1x Privacy LED 1x LED bezel 1x 1/4/20 flanged nut Lens, lens washer, and lens magnet 50 mil […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on AWS DeepLens is a $249 Deep Learning Video Camera for Developers

AWS DeepLens is a $249 Deep Learning Video Camera for Developers

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched Deeplens, the “world’s first deep learning enabled video camera for developers”. Powered by an Intel Atom X5 processor with 8GB, and featuring a 4MP (1080p) camera, the fully programmable system runs Ubuntu 16.04, and is designed expand deep learning skills of developers, with Amazon providing tutorials, code, and pre-trained models. AWS Deeplens specifications: SoC – Intel Atom X5 Processor with Intel Gen9 HD graphics (106 GFLOPS of compute power) System Memory – 8GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, micro SD slot Camera – 4MP (1080p) camera using MJPEG, H.264 encoding Video Output – micro HDMI port Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, and HDMI audio Connectivity – Dual band WiFi USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Misc – Power button; camera, WiFi and power status LEDs; reset pinhole Power Supply – TBD Dimensions – 168 x 94 x 47 mm Weight – 296.5 grams The […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Cheap Evil Tech – WiFi Deauther V2.0 Board and Autonomous Mini Killer Drones

Cheap Evil Tech – WiFi Deauther V2.0 Board and Autonomous Mini Killer Drones

Most technological advances usually improve life of people, and with the costs coming down dramatically over the years, available to more people. But technology can be used for bad, for example by governments and some hackers. Today, I’ve come across two cheap hardware devices that could be considered evil. The first one is actually pretty harmless and can be use for education, but disconnects you from your WiFi, which may bring severe physiological trauma to some people, but should not be life threatening, while the other is downright scary with cheap targeted killing machines. WiFi Deauther V2.0 board Specifications for this naughty little board: Wireless Module based on ESP8266 WiSoC USB – 1x Micro USB type changed, more stable. Expansion – 17-pin header with 1x ADC, 10x GPIOs, power pins Misc – 1x power switch,  battery status LEDs Power Supply 5 to 12V via micro USB port Support for 18650 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Hisilicon Hi3559A V100ES is an 8K Camera SoC with a Neural Network Accelerator

Hisilicon Hi3559A V100ES is an 8K Camera SoC with a Neural Network Accelerator

Earlier today, I published a review of JeVois-A33 machine vision camera, noting that processing is handled by the four Cortex A7 cores of Allwinner A33 processor, but in the future we can expect such type of camera to support acceleration with OpenCL/Vulkan capable GPUs, or better, Neural network accelerators (NNA) such Imagination Tech PowerVR Series 2NX. HiSilicon already launched Kirin 970 SoC with such similarIP, except they call it an NPU (Neural-network Processing Unit). However, while looking for camera SoC with NNA, I found a list of deep learning processors, including the ones that go into powerful servers and autonomous vehicles, that also included a 8K Camera SoC with a dual core CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) acceleration engine made by Hisilicon: Hi3559A V100ES. Hisilicon Hi3559A V100ES specifications: Processor Cores 2x ARM Cortex A73 @ 2 GHz, 32 KB I cache, 64KB D cache or 512 KB L2 cache 2x ARM […]