AMD Releases Versal AI Edge Gen 2 FPGA Kit
AMD has released the VEK385 Versal AI Edge Gen 2 evaluation kit, an FPGA-based System-on-Chip targeting demanding edge AI workloads in aerospace and robotics. The kit features integrated AI engines and plugs into a PCIe Gen5/Gen4 slot for high-bandwidth interfacing. The platform is designed to combine deterministic FPGA control with high-throughput AI compute for applications like sensor fusion and real-time control in SWaP-constrained environments.
- The Versal AI Edge Gen 2 series is designed to meet functional safety standards such as ISO 26262 ASIL-D and IEC 61508 SIL3, critical for aerospace and automotive applications. The architecture includes features like an application security unit and support for post-quantum cryptography to address security threats. AMD and its partners offer a comprehensive ecosystem for DO-254 and DO-178 certification, which can help reduce development costs and time-to-market for avionics systems. - This new generation of adaptive SoCs provides up to 10 times the scalar compute performance compared to the first-generation Versal devices. This is achieved through the integration of up to eight Arm Cortex-A78AE application processors and up to ten Arm Cortex-R52 real-time processors. - The next-generation AI Engines (AIE-ML v2) deliver up to three times the performance per watt for AI inference compared to the previous generation. They also introduce new data types like MX6 and MX9, which can improve throughput and performance per watt. - In a departure from multi-chip solutions, the Versal AI Edge Gen 2 integrates preprocessing, AI inference, and post-processing on a single device. This can reduce board space, latency, and power consumption. The integrated programmable logic allows for flexible, real-time preprocessing of sensor data. - The VEK385 evaluation kit includes a variety of high-speed connectivity options to support different applications. These include QSFP28 and SFP28 connectors for up to 100 Gb/s Ethernet, a PCIe x8 edge connector supporting Gen5, and an FMC+ connector for I/O expansion. - For video and display applications, the Versal AI Edge Gen 2 features a hardened image signal processor, an enhanced video codec unit that supports 4K60 12-bit HEVC and AVC encoding/decoding, and an integrated Arm Mali-G78AE GPU. The evaluation kit provides HDMI and DisplayPort interfaces. - FPGAs like the Versal AI Edge Gen 2 can offer lower latency and greater power efficiency for AI workloads compared to GPUs, especially in real-time edge deployments with small batch sizes. This is due to their reconfigurable architecture which can be tailored to specific algorithms, in contrast to the fixed architecture of GPUs. - The VEK385 kit is supported by the AMD Vivado Design Suite and the Vitis Unified Software Platform, which includes the Vitis AI development environment. The kit also comes with a Board Evaluation and Management (BEAM) tool for monitoring and adjusting clocks, voltages, and power.
