Synaptics has extended its Synaptics Astra AI-Native platform with the SR-Series high-performance adaptive microcontroller units (MCUs) for scalable, context-aware Edge AI. The series features three tiers of operation: performance (100 GOPS), efficiency, and ultra-low-power (ULP) always-on (AON) to deliver intelligence at every power level.
Based on an Arm Cortex-M55 core and the Arm Ethos-U55 neural processing unit (NPU), the SR-Series is supported by the Astra Machina Micro development kit and open-source SDK. It is optimised for multimodal consumer, enterprise, and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) workloads with accelerators and adaptive vision, audio, and voice algorithms.
These small-form-factor MCUs have a wide set of peripherals—including multiple camera interfaces—to help with minimising system cost, power, and footprint while enabling integration into a wide range of devices, such as battery-operated security cameras, sensors, appliances, point-of-sale, digital signage, and scanners.
Announced at the most recent edition of embedded world, the Synaptics Astra AI-Native compute platform for the IoT combines scalable, low-power compute silicon for the device Edge with open-source, easy-to-use software and tools and Veros wireless connectivity. The platform was built upon Synaptics’ foundation in neural networks, field-hardened AI hardware and compiler design expertise for the IoT, and refined, in-house support of a broad base of modalities.
“We believe we are at an inflection point in Edge AI where embedded developers have a unique opportunity to redefine human-machine interaction through multimodal processing and contextual awareness,” explained Vikram Gupta, Senior Vice President and General Manager of IoT Processors, Chief Product Officer, Synaptics. “Unlocking this potential requires a new class of embedded compute silicon. As part of our Astra family, the SR-Series extends our Edge AI processing roadmap with intelligence optimised for various power levels. It allows the development of cognitive IoT devices that seamlessly adapt to their surroundings, from ultra-low-power always-on sensing to high-performance Edge inference.”
“Enabling ultra-low-power AI processing at the edge will revolutionize emerging applications across various markets, including retail and smart home, where we are seeing greater performance demands,” added Paul Williamson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IoT Line of Business, Arm. “With the new SR-Series, built on the Arm compute platform, Synaptics is delivering the real-time intelligence and innovation needed to scale edge AI deployments.”
“Meeting the needs of future intelligent edge devices requires solutions capable of multimodal processing to achieve situational awareness,” said Jim McGregor, Principal Analyst, TIRIAS Research. “Synaptics’ SR-Series of AI MCUs offers a scalable solution that maximises IoT device awareness while simplifying integration and optimising power and performance.”
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