AI SoC Targets Linux at the Edge

The Synaptics Astra SL2610 family (see figure) focuses on a range of applications, from smart home to industrial, which can benefit from its artificial-intelligence (AI) acceleration. It’s designed for long-term embedded environments.

A 2-GHz, dual-core Arm Cortex-A55 can run Linux, including support for Yocto Linux and Android. And the system manager CPU is a 200-MHz, Arm Cortex-M52 with Helium support that’s able to run operating systems like FreeRTOS and Zephyr.

The Astra SL2610 system-on-chip (SoC), designed for standalone edge computing, manages large language models (LLMs) as well as other neural-network models with its 1-TOPS neural processing unit (NPU). Thus, it can handle text audio, voice, and video AI-based applications in real-time without requiring a connection to the cloud. This attribute is critical for devices like consumer appliances, factory control, point-of-sale (POS) systems, as well as drones and healthcare appliances that need to stand on their own.

Astra SL2610 Features

The Synaptics Astra SL2610 is designed to handle machine-learning applications on its own with a plethora of interface, video, and display capabilities (see table).

The Astra SL2610 features a 1-TOPS NPU and multicore CPU and GPU. (Electronic Design)

The dual Gigabit Ethernet ports are designed to handle IEEE 1588 and time-sensitive networking (TSN) support that’s crucial in industrial and real-time applications. The SoC features two CAN-FD ports for additional real-time communication support.

The chip is designed for ultra-low-power operation and can turn off or slow down components to reduce power requirements.

Astra SL2610 and Artificial Intelligence

AI support is the primary reason for developers to choose the Astra SL2610. Its NPU is based on Google’s Coral core built around a RISC-V32IM RISC-V core with custom SIMD support to handle machine-learning (ML) models.

The Synaptics Torq Edge AI platform is new. It handles standard AI software frameworks like TensorFlow, LiteRT, JAX, and format exchanges such as ONNX. It’s designed to support all Google NPU models.

The new family is supported by Synaptics’ Astra Machina Foundation Series. This development platform includes a carrier board that handles different Synaptic modules with up to 8 TOPS of performance. It includes Yocto Linux and open-source AI tools along with a host of pre-optimized AI models.