January 10, 2020 by Luke James
Murata Electronics and Google have joined forces to develop the Coral Accelerator Module, the world’s smallest AI module, in an easy-to-implement package.
Murata Electronics America, a global leader in the manufacture, design, and sale of passive electronic solutions and components, recently announced its latest creation: the smallest artificial intelligence (AI) module, the Coral Accelerator Module.
Collaborating with Google to produce the Coral Accelerator Module, Murata included Google’s Edge TPU ASIC in a small footprint. The module provides a solution to some of the most pressing challenges facing the implementation of AI solutions through the simplification of printed board design and delivery of excellent noise suppression.
Miniaturization is significant because the optimization of board space can achieve robust functionality in operations where there are space constraints. The module also hastens the algorithmic computations necessary for AI execution.
The Coral accelerator module. Image Credit: Coral.
According to Murata Connectivity’s product marketing team spokesperson Sean Kim, the Coral Accelerator Module provides a significant building block for AI Edge ecosystems. It enables the next generation of intelligent gadgets; thus, it’s a game-changer.
Moreover, the package enables more customers to include Coral intelligence in their applications across a variety of environments. Coral product manager Vikram Tank said that the module promotes fresh on-device AI solutions in many industries, including agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing. Together with Google Edge TPU, it provides an easy-to-integrate and robust solution.
The purpose of the Coral Accelerator Module is to provide running AI applications at the device level to shift quickly from prototype to production. It offers a complete hardware component toolkit, pre-compiled models, and software tools for developing AI devices. Furthermore, the AI module is an essential part of the Coral platform that is fully linkable and can be implemented in various solutions across multiple industries.
Murata used its decades of research and development expertise and global resources in the areas of component integration and high-density design to enable scalability, flexibility, and integration compatibility of applications using the Coral technology. It will start selling the Coral Accelerator Module in early 2020 via the Murata website.
