Sony invests in Raspberry Pi to bring artificial intelligence chips to its nanocomputers

Sony is investing in a Raspberry Pi to use artificial intelligence chips in its nanocomputers. AI platform Aitrios for edge computing should soon become usable.

Sony’s semiconductor division just announced a “strategic investment”in the Raspberry Pi to bring its artificial intelligence (AI) technology to a wider audience. The idea is to offer Raspberry Pi users around the world a development platform for their Aitrios AI edge computing platform, which is used for image processing features such as face recognition, among others.

Sony invests in Raspberry Pi to bring artificial intelligence chips to its nanocomputers

“We are excited to partner with Raspberry Pi Ltd. introduce our Aitrios platform, which helps to develop unique and diverse solutions using our AI peripherals, to Raspberry Pi users and the developer community, and provide a unique development experience,” said Terushi Shimizu, President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions.

The Raspberry Pi 4 and other products from the company offer users the power of a PC in an extremely small form factor. Originally conceived and developed as an educational platform for learning about robotics, engineering, and more, it has become a very popular way to prototype for the Internet of Things (IoT) and other projects.

AI platform Aitrios for edge computing should be usable soon

The advent of Sony Aitrios could make these nanocomputers even more useful. Unlike cloud AI, this is the execution of calculations directly on the chip (edge ​​computing) to reduce latency, and Sony has already presented its system as a solution for surveillance, security and more. Examples cited on the project website include inventory and inventory tracking, license plate recognition, and “detailed employee analysis.”Sony points out that data privacy is respected as data analysis is done only on the chip, only metadata is sent to the cloud.

Sony is participating in the Raspberry Pi as a “long-term valued strategic partner,”the Japanese company explains. He recently supplied autofocus camera modules and helped Raspberry Pi increase the productivity of his factory in the United Kingdom at the start of his adventure.