Synaptics rolls out the Synaptics Astra platform, accompanied by the SL-Series of embedded AI-native Internet of Things (IoT) processors and the Astra Machina Foundation Series development kit.
In a time where customers are increasingly seeking AI integration in various products, Astra touts to offer the necessary framework, scalability, and adaptability to fulfill these demands.
The SL-Series empowers designers to incorporate AI directly into their products, eliminating the need for reliance on data centers and addressing concerns regarding data privacy and latency.
This family of embedded processors delivers exceptional computational capabilities while maintaining power efficiency, enabling a wide array of applications in consumer, enterprise, and industrial edge IoT sectors.
“Sense, process, and connect are the fundamental elements of an IoT system and we have differentiated technologies in all three areas,” said Michael Hurlston, President and CEO of Synaptics. “While we have historically been leaders in a handful of narrow processor verticals, today we are embarking on a journey to bring advanced AI capability to an incredibly wide range of edge IoT devices.”
The Synaptics Astra AI-native compute platform is known to revolutionize the design of IoT edge devices by providing a comprehensive solution.
It includes scalable hardware, unified software, an adaptive open-source AI framework, a partner-based ecosystem, and reliable wireless connectivity.
The SL-Series, which consists of multi-core Linux or Android systems on chip (SoCs), is powered by Arm® Cortex® A-series CPUs and incorporates hardware accelerators for efficient edge inferencing and multimedia processing across various domains such as audio, video, vision, image, voice, and speech.
“The SL-Series delivers on the high-performance end of a roadmap of scalable edge AI IoT compute solutions and will soon be complemented by our power-optimized AI-enabling SR-Series of MCUs,” said Vikram Gupta, SVP & GM IoT Processors and Chief Product Officer at Synaptics. “Combined with our easy-to-use AI frameworks, customers will be able to bring intelligent IoT products to the market quickly.”
“Edge AI is transforming use cases across markets including smart home, city, agriculture, and retail,” said Paul Williamson, SVP and GM, IoT Line of Business at Arm. “The Arm-powered Astra platform will deliver the performance and intelligence needed for this next generation of AI experiences.”
The SL-Series comprises three devices, each providing distinct features and advantages to meet various multi-modal application needs, including built-in AI capabilities:
- The SL1680 is based on a quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 64-bit CPU, a 7.9 TOPS NPU, a high-efficiency, feature-rich GPU, and a multimedia accelerator pipeline. It is ideal for home and industrial control, smart appliances, home security gateways, digital signage, displays, point-of-sale systems, and scanners.
- The SL1640 is optimized for cost and power and is based on a quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor, a 1.6+ TOPS NPU, and a GE9920 GPU. It is ideal for smart home appliances, enterprise conferencing, smart speakers, displays and signage, consumer, and industrial control panels.
- The SL1620 is also based on a quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 CPU subsystem, a feature-rich GPU for advanced graphics and AI acceleration, superior audio algorithms, and dual displays. Applications include enterprise multimedia conferencing, smart appliances, home security gateways, digital signage, displays, point-of-sale systems, and smart speakers.
Astra Machina Foundation Series Development Kit
The Astra Machina Foundation Series development kit supports the SL-Series. The kit helps AI beginners and experts quickly unlock the processors’ superior AI capabilities, powerful processing and graphics performance, and matching wireless connectivity, starting with Synaptics’ SYN43711 and SYN43752 Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® combo SoCs.
Dates To Remember for the Official Launch of Synaptics Astra Platform
To celebrate the official launch of Astra with the SL-Series processors, Synaptics is hosting a special invitation-only evening event at EW2024 on Tuesday, April 9th.
Availability
The SL-Series processors are available now. The Astra Machina Foundation Series development kit will be available in Q2, 2024.
Synaptics at embedded world
Synaptics at embedded world 2024 will be at Booth #4A-259: Join to learn more about advances in edge AI compute, seamless and robust wireless connectivity, and automotive displays and infotainment.
For more information and to view the product briefs: SL1680, SL1640, SL1620, Machina Foundation Series