Sony’s semiconductor division has Announced that it is making a “strategic investment” in the Raspberry Pi as a way to bring its AI technology to a broader market. The idea is to give Raspberry Pi users around the world a development platform for their Aitrios (on-chip) edge computing AI platform used for image sensing functions like facial recognition.
“We are excited to partner with Raspberry Pi Ltd. to bring our Aitrios platform, which supports the development of unique and diverse solutions using our cutting-edge AI devices, to the Raspberry Pi developer and user community, and to provide an experience development process.” said Sony Semiconductor Solutions President and CEO Terushi Shimizu.
The Raspberry Pi 4 and other devices from the company give users PC-like power in a small form factor. Originally designed as an educational platform to teach robotics, coding, and more, it has become popular as a way for coders to prototype IoT (Internet of Things) and other devices.
The addition of Sony’s Aitrios could make it even more useful. Unlike cloud AI, it runs directly on chips (edge computing) to reduce latency, and Sony has designed the system for uses like surveillance, security, and more. Examples cited in a dedicated website they include inventory monitoring and retention, customer counting, license plate recognition, and “deep employee analytics.” Sony says it preserves privacy by parsing data strictly on the chip and only sending metadata to the cloud.
Sony is already involved with the Raspberry Pi as a “long-standing and valued strategic partner,” the company said. Most recently, he provided imaging chips with autofocus capability and helped Raspberry Pi speed up their UK manufacturing facility in the company’s early days.
