3-2021

RF & Wireless
AI and Machine Learning Accessible on
Resource-constrained IoT Chips
Nordic announced that further to
entering into a partnership with
Edge Impulse, a leading provider
of what’s termed ‘tiny machine
learning’ or ‘TinyML’ tools designed
to run on resource constrained
semiconductor devices,
that all its nRF52 and nRF53
Series Bluetooth Low Energy
(LE) chips will now be able
to benefit from easy-to-use AI
and machine learning features
as standard. This is a first for
the Bluetooth semiconductor
industry.
“What AI and machine learning
on resource-constrained chips
does – which Nordic will now
collectively refer to as TinyML
– is take the application potential
of wireless IoT technologies
such as Bluetooth to a whole new
level in terms of environmental
awareness and autonomous decision
making,” comments Kjetil
Holstad, Nordic’s Director of
Product Management.
“Although we have had customers
build and run TinyML
applications on Nordic’s Bluetooth
chips in the past, before
now this required quite a high
level of mathematical and computer
programming expertise
using professional science industry
and academia software like
MATLAB.”
One example of the
above
Edge Impulse & Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 DK
https://docs.edgeimpulse.com/docs/nordic-semi-nrf52840-dk
Edge Impulse & Nordic Semiconductor nRF5340 DK
https://docs.edgeimpulse.com/docs/nordic-semi-nrf5340-dk
About Nordic nRF53 & nRF52 Series https://tinyurl.com/nRF5x
About Nordic Semiconductor ASA www.nordicsemi.com/About-us
is two successful projects in the
Hackster.io and Smart Parks
backed ‘ElephantEdge’ wildlife
tracker challenge that employed
Nordic’s nRF52840 System-on-
Chip (SoC). These included an
award-winning design by Dhruv
Sheth called ‘EleTect’, a TinyML
and IoT smart wildlife tracker
employing the nRF52840 SoC as
well as an accelerometer, camera
and microphone. Sheth’s different
TinyML models included:
Camera vision models to monitor
the risk of poaching and predators
or to monitor elephant
movements; accelerometer data
models to predict and classify
common elephant behaviors; and
audio data models to detect and
classify elephant musth data and
mood swings (a periodic condition
in male elephants characterized
by highly aggressive behavior
that can place them in conflict
with humans). These models
were made ready for deployment
in three forms including a C++
library, Arduino library, and
OpenMV library all available
on GitHub.
“What our partnership with Edge
Impulse will do is remove all the
complexity and previous technological
barriers-to-entry for
our customers wishing to add
TinyML features to their Bluetooth
applications,” continues
Holstad. “In fact using Edge
Impulse tools, Nordic customers
could be up and running TinyML
on their applications within an
afternoon. And at an ultra-low
power consumption level that
still supports extended battery
operation, even from small batteries.”
Holstad says prime engineering
areas for TinyML include but are
not limited to audio and vibration
where it can be used to establish
normal operating patterns
and rapidly detect anomalies.
Example applications include
anti-poaching (listening for gun
shots), predictive and preventative
maintenance (listening for
tell-tale changes in the vibration
signature of a public escalator or
lift), and utilities (power line failure
detection after a storm). But
Holstad says all Nordic customer
applications stand to benefit from
TinyML from asset tracking to
wearables.
The Nordic Edge Impulse partnership
will center around Edge
Impulse’s Edge Optimized Neural
(EON) compiler that is said
to optimize computer processing
and memory use by up to 50 percent
when running TinyML on
resource-constrained semiconductor
devices.
■ Edge Impulse
www.edgeimpulse.com
■ Nordic Semiconductors
www.nordicsemi.com
DC to 26.5 GHz
Pickoff Tee
RLC Electronics has recently
launched a DC to 26.5 GHz
Pickoff Tee with 15 dB of pickoff
loss. The units provide extremely
hf-Praxis
ISSN 1614-743X
Fachzeitschrift
für HF- und
Mikrowellentechnik
• Herausgeber und Verlag:
beam-Verlag
Krummbogen 14
35039 Marburg
Tel.: 06421/9614-0
Fax: 06421/9614-23
info@beam-verlag.de
www.beam-verlag.de
• Redaktion:
Ing. Frank Sichla (FS)
redaktion@beam-verlag.de
• Anzeigen:
Myrjam Weide
Tel.: +49-6421/9614-16
m.weide@beam-verlag.de
• Erscheinungsweise:
monatlich
• Satz und Reproduktionen:
beam-Verlag
• Druck & Auslieferung:
Brühlsche
Universitätsdruckerei
Der beam-Verlag übernimmt,
trotz sorgsamer Prüfung der
Texte durch die Redaktion, keine
Haftung für deren inhaltliche
Richtigkeit. Alle Angaben im Einkaufsführer
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broadband signal monitoring in
a very small package (0.54” x
0.39” x 0.32”). Other/custom
pickoff losses are available if
desired. Units are offered in
standard frequency ranges from
DC to 18 GHz, DC to 26 GHz
and DC to 40 GHz. RLC offers
both catalog options and customized
options, and can provide
form factor drop-in replacement/obsolescence
assistance
as needed.
■ RLC Electronics, Inc
www.rlcelectronics.com
62 hf-praxis 3/2021