Ambient Scientific debuts DigAn (Digital Analog) AI technology to boost performance and efficiency

Ambient Scientific released its initial Digital Analog (DigAn) AI technology with demonstration of its first DigAn AI processor chip at the Edge AI Summit. 

DigAn AI is an advanced version of Analog AI technology that provides ultra-high performance and efficiency of Analog AI with implementation and commercial advantages of Digital chips. The company also announced low-power on-device AI solution for ‘Wake on Word’ applications.

Ambient Scientific’s DigAn AI Processor is built with multiple fundamental grass root level innovations. These include Analog Matrix Compute Engine using DigAn technology, that performs blazingly fast arithmetic computations with improved power efficiency, ultra-low power embedded SRAM for critical storage, and ultra-low power on-chip interconnect technology that enables massive parallel processing.

Ambient’s DigAn AI Processor computes an entire layer of neurons in a single clock cycle using custom Analog techniques, a task that takes several hundreds or even thousands of clock cycles in traditional implementations. However, DigAn technology uses standard digital transistors to implement its analog functions.

Experts agree that Analog is a great fit for AI computing. However, prior implementations had severe limitations in accuracy and computing range – two important parameters for optimal AI solution. Ambient has eliminated these limitations. 

While prior implementations have struggled to achieve 8-bit accuracy, Ambient’s DigAn (Digital Analog) technology can achieve 32-bit accuracy. This is 16 million times more accurate in computer language.

Renesas expands access of IP solutions including 7nm process TCAM, advanced standard Ethernet TSN IPs

Renesas Electronics announced expanded access to its highly sought portfolio of intellectual property (IP) licenses that allow designers to meet a broad range of customer requirements in a rapidly changing industry. Starting today, customers will have access to IPs such as advanced 7nm (nanometer) SRAM and TCAM, and standard Ethernet time-sensitive networking (TSN) IP. 

Furthermore, Renesas is working on providing a system IP which includes PIM (processing in memory), which attracted attention as an AI accelerator, presented in a conference paper in June 2019. With these IPs, customers can jump start their advanced semiconductor device development projects, such as the development of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) chips or ASICs for 5G networks.

The Renesas accelerator is based on the processing-in-memory (PIM) architecture, an increasingly popular approach for AI technology, in which multiply-and-accumulate operations are performed in the memory circuit as data is read out from that memory.

Customers developing custom chips or using FPGA devices for early development can leverage Renesas IP in their subsystem design or speed up software development, respectively, allowing them to focus resources on their speciality areas, speed up the development process, and bring highly competitive products to market. 

Customers who prefer to use existing software assets can take advantage of Renesas IP assets to achieve more efficient system development by reducing the resources required to develop, verify, and evaluate software and boards.

To support customers’ semiconductor development efforts, Renesas has also established a network of partner companies ready to support users' unique needs. This network includes design houses that perform contract semiconductor design and technology partners who will provide an array of software and middleware tools. 

This network will accelerate users' technology innovations and product development efforts by lowering the barriers to entry for semiconductor device and FPGA development. Renesas can also introduce experienced users to model-based design development environments that fully utilize leading-edge IP.

In September 2018, Renesas opened its extensive IP license portfolio, offering access to more than 40 licenses, including CPU cores, timer IP for motor applications, USB cores, and SRAM. In 2019, Renesas received over 100 enquiries and have started supplying IPs to many users. Renesas aims to exceed IP sales annual market growth rate of 10 percent, and will expand the provision of IP and support system while creating new, and expanding old, IP markets.