"choosing a processor for embedded vision: options and trends," a presentation from bdti
TRANSCRIPT
© 2015 BDTI 1
Jeff Bier – President, BDTI
12 May 2015
Choosing a Processor for Embedded
Vision: Options and Trends
© 2015 BDTI 2
Processors Enable Vision Everywhere
© 2015 BDTI 3
The Processor Landscape
© 2015 BDTI 4
• CPU
• CPU + GPU
• CPU + DSP
• CPU + vision co-processor
• CPU + FPGA
• CPU + DSP + vision co-processor
• Mobile application processor
• …
Numerous, Diverse Processor Chip Options
© 2015 BDTI 5
Processors come in a surprising variety of forms:
• Silicon IP core (for chip designers)
• Chip
• But not all chips are for sale to all buyers
• System-on-module (SoM)
• Board (development, reference design, production)
• System
Processor Delivery Forms
macrumors.com
© 2015 BDTI 6
Processing Efficiency vs. Development Effort
Performance/$
Performance/W
Development
Effort
© 2015 BDTI 7
Trend: Heterogeneous Architectures
Performance/$
Performance/W
Development
Effort
© 2015 BDTI 8
Recent Trends
© 2015 BDTI 9
Licensable vision-specific silicon IP co-processor cores:
• Apical Spirit core
• Cadence (Tensilica) IVP core
• CEVA second-generation XM-4 core (announced 2015)
• CogniVue second-generation “Opus” core (announced 2015)
• Synopsys EV52 core (announced 2015)
• videantis v-MP4xxx0HDX vision and compression cores
Trend: Vision-specific Silicon IP
Co-processor Cores
© 2015 BDTI 10
• Analog Devices BF609
• Freescale S32V
• Inuitive NU3000
• MobileEye EyeQ4
• Movidius Myraid 2
• Texas Instruments TDA3x
Trend: Vision-specific Processor Chips
Inuitive M3 Reference Design
Movidius Myraid 2
© 2015 BDTI 11
Trend: Convolutional Neural Networks
Degree of Specialization
Software Packages/
Libraries, Frameworks
Architecture Enhancements
Dedicated
Co-processor
None
Architecture Focus
© 2015 BDTI 12
How much of a processor’s potential performance is ultimate realized,
and how much skill, time and risk is required to develop an application
Depend not only on the processor architecture, but also on the:
• Programming model
• Development tools (availability, quality, performance)
• Optimized software libraries
• APIs (e.g., OpenVX)
• Choice of programming languages (e.g., OpenCL)
Trend: Growing Importance of Tools,
Libraries and APIs
© 2015 BDTI 13
What You’re Buying
Processor IP,
Cores
Modules
Development
Boards
SoCs
“Processor”
© 2015 BDTI 14
What You’re Really Buying
Processor IP,
Cores
Modules
Development
Boards
SoCs
Complete Hardware/Software Solutions and
Reference Designs
High-Level CV
Components
Tools,
Lang-
uages,
OSs Drivers &
Accelerators
Application Software
Training, Support, and Development Services
Ecosystem
“Processor:”
Low-Level CV
Components
© 2015 BDTI 15
• New Khronos standard API for acceleration of
vision applications
• Promises portability across heterogeneous
processors (CPU, vision co-processor, GPU,
DSP, etc.)
• Developer specifies data flow graph of vision
algorithm kernels
• Kernels may be implemented in any language
• OpenVX framework partitions the graph
among processing engines, handles memory
transfers, etc.
• Designed for mobile, useful in other domains
Trend: OpenVX API for Mobile Vision
Vision
Accelerator
Application
Application
Application
Application
Vision
Accelerator Vision
Accelerator Vision
Accelerator
Khronos Group
© 2015 BDTI 16
• There are many, diverse processor options for embedded vision
• The landscape is evolving rapidly
• Each vision product is unique
• Selecting a processor is a multi-dimensional optimization problem with
incomplete data
• Allow time to identify and evaluate your options
• A processor is only as good as its tools, libraries, etc.
• Trends to watch:
• Vision-specific processor cores and chips
• CNN-oriented processors
• Tools, libraries and APIs “arms race”
Lessons Learned
© 2015 BDTI 17
For Product Developers:
• Processor Selection
• Algorithm Design
• Software Optimization
For Technology Suppliers:
• Competitive Analysis
• Sounding Board Service
• Independent Reports
• Demo Development
Meet us at the Embedded Vision Summit Technology Showcase
Or visit www.BDTI.com
BDTI Services
© 2015 BDTI 18
• www.Embedded-vision.com
• www.BDTI.com
• “Vision: Promise & Challenge of Heterogeneous Processing,”
http://bit.ly/1rjdBT5
• “Processing Options For Implementing Vision Capabilities in Embedded
Systems,” http://bit.ly/1wq16oW
• “Targeting Computer Vision Algorithms to Embedded Hardware,”
http://bit.ly/1nY2wkD
• “Using Heterogeneous Computing for Mobile and Embedded Vision,”
http://bit.ly/1nY2wkD
Resources