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Toyota and AISIN develop AI chip with built-in memory for faster processing
Toyota and automotive supplier AISIN have developed an AI system-on-chip that stores model weights and its operating system in built-in memory. They say keeping this data on the chip can reduce delays caused by accessing external memory, potentially improving AI tasks such as image recognition in cars and robots.
The chip uses a 16nm FinFET process, a dual-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU, an Arm Mali-G31 GPU and STT-MRAM. AISIN and Tohoku University report that it starts its operating system kernel in 65.7 milliseconds, 38 times faster than with external memory, and can run Tiny YOLOv3; a hybrid multiplication design reduced the model’s weight data by 53%, from 17.7MB to 9.36MB, while maintaining 16-bit precision. AISIN has not said when the chip might enter production, while Nvidia and Qualcomm are also targeting automotive AI.
In short
- Toyota and AISIN have developed an AI chip with integrated memory.
- Its kernel startup is reported to be 38 times faster.
- AISIN has not announced a production timetable.
Explained simply
Toyota is Japan’s largest carmaker, and AISIN is a major automotive supplier that makes parts and systems for vehicles. They are developing a system-on-chip, a single component that combines computing functions, for running artificial intelligence in cars and robots.
AI models use stored data, including “weights” that help determine how the model responds to information. Moving that data between a processor and separate memory can take time; storing it on the chip may reduce those delays. The reported chip uses a type of memory called STT-MRAM.
Faster processing could help vehicles and robots analyse camera images and other information quickly. Companies including Nvidia and Qualcomm are also developing technology for automotive AI, while AISIN has not given a production timetable for this chip.
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Originally published by The Register as “Toyota shows off SoC that stores model weights and its OS on integrated memory”.