Myriad X deemed first visual processing unit capable of providing deep learning at the edge
Movidius, an Intel subsidiary that specializes in low-power processor chips for computer vision and deep-learning, recently unveiled a new processing unit that brings artificial intelligence to the edge.
Movidius was acquired by Intel about a year ago. The company released Myriad X Monday as an upgrade to its Myriad 2 vision processing unit. The company touted Myriad X as the world’s first visual processing unit with a neural computer engine capable of delivering neural networks computation for deep learning at the edge.
Myriad X is equipped with a “neural network accelerator,” which allows it to take on deep learning applications based on neural networks. It is able to deliver more than 4 trillion operations per second. By contrast, Myriad 2 tapered off at about 1 to 1.5 trillion operations per second.
The goal of the new Movidius chip package is to supply processing power designed for artificial intelligence into edge devices, including drones, robots and smart cameras. If a smart video camera is built on Intel’s latest Movidius chip, for instance, it may be able to determine an individual’s age and gender in a photo.
Myriad X is tailored to tackle hurdles attached to autonomous vehicles. Tech giants like Google and Uber hope to make self-driving cars a consumer reality by 2020. These connected cars will need human-like vision in order to function, and will place a tremendous amount of strain on existing cloud-based networks. Movidius chips address these issues by providing visual intelligence for onboard devices and low-powered edge computing.
“As we continue to leverage Intel’s unique ability to deliver end-to-end AI solutions from the cloud to the edge, we are bound to deliver a VPU technology roadmap that will continue to dramatically increase edge compute performance without sacrificing power consumption,” wrote Remi El-Ouazzane, CEO of Movidius, in a company blog post. “This next decade will mark the birth of brand-new categories of devices, and we can’t wait to see the innovation from Myriad X to come,” he added.
Intel isn’t the only company invested in artificial intelligence chips. Both Google and Microsoft have announced initiatives to launch cloud computing services alongside a new breed of artificial intelligence chips. Nevertheless, these companies do not have any immediate plans to deploy these chips at the edge.
