Alif Semiconductor Launches Low-Cost StartKits for Edge AI Microcontrollers
New SK-B1 and SK-E1C evaluation boards simplify development of low-power on-device AI/ML applications with integrated Arm Cortex-M55 CPUs and Ethos-U55 NPUs.
Alif Semiconductor®, a leading global supplier of secure, connected, power-efficient Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) microcontrollers (MCUs) and fusion processors, launched a new family of Low-Cost evaluation boards for its Edge AI-enabled Ensemble® and Balletto® Microcontrollers. The SK-B1 and SK-E1C StartKits lower the barrier of entry to true low-power, on-device AI/ML inference.
Each StartKit ships with the respective MCU series superset configuration, which combines a 160MHz Arm® Cortex®-M55 CPU core with Helium™ vector processing extension for faster DSP performance, an Ethos™-U55 NPU delivering up to 2 orders of magnitude faster inference performance than running the same workload on a traditional MCU core, 2MB of tightly coupled SRAM and MRAM, and all IOs available through expansion headers offering customers flexibility to add connectors for only the interfaces that are needed.
Simplicity for evaluation and development
In addition to 44-pin dual-row expansion headers defined by Alif that expose all MCU functions, the StartKit platform also supports multiple de facto standard expansion headers, such as Arduino R3 for shields and MikroE Click™ for sensor and audio add-ons. The StartKit platform also includes high-speed USB devices on micro-B for data, USB-C for power, a tri-colour LED, user button, and clearly labelled current-sense jumpers. The BLE wireless SK-B1 also includes a tuned chip antenna and RF filter network. Developing and debugging on the StartKit platform is made seamless by the inclusion of SEGGER's J-Link® On-Board debugger.
"At Alif, we truly believe that adding intelligence to embedded devices is the way of the future", said Mark Rootz, VP of Marketing at Alif Semiconductor. "In 2021, we introduced the first NPU-enabled microcontrollers to the market, and with today's introduction of the StartKit platform, we are making this next-generation technology accessible to everyone."
