Synaptics EVK Enables Development of Biometric Edge Devices

Synaptics is trying to speed up edge development with the release of a new Edge AI evaluation kit (EVK). The EVK is built atop Synaptics’ Katana System-on-Chip (SoC) solution, and comes with all of the hardware and software that developers need to create new IoT applications.

In that regard, the Katana Edge AI EVK comes with audio and motion sensors to enable voice and gesture-based applications, respectively. It also supports computer vision applications with an accessory package that includes the mounting bar and clips needed to link the EVK to an overhead camera. As a result, the EVK can be used for people detection and recognition.

The EVK can be plugged in with a wired connection or deployed as part of a wireless network thanks to its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. The Katana SoC itself was built to minimize power consumption, a fact that Synaptics believes will make the EVK appealing to product manufacturers in a number of different sectors.

“The market for low-power edge AI solutions is characterized by a broad spectrum of applications that have specific use case requirements,” said Synaptics Low-Power AI Senior Product Manager Ananda Roy. “What they have in common is that they all require intelligent and efficient detection and analysis of image, audio, voice, and motion data. We know from experience that our customers benefit by having a more complete platform of hardware, software, wireless connectivity, and technical support to get their IoT concepts to market.” 

Synaptics will ultimately be hoping to capture a portion of an anticipated $38.9 billion edge AI hardware market. The company expects the EVK to be particularly popular in smart home, smart building, and smart vehicle devices. In the meantime, the EVK is already being offered through Synaptics’ usual sales channels.

The news builds on Synaptics’ efforts to strengthen its Katana portfolio in the past few months. The company added voice technology to the platform following its acquisition of the DSP Group, and then integrated the SoC with Edge Impulse’s Embedded Machine Learning software development platform. Synaptics also acquired Broadcom’s wireless IoT portfolio in the summer of 2020.

(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)