Page 18 - EETimes Europe June 2021

SPECIAL REPORT: EMBEDDED VISION

Technology visionaries are accelerating innovation
focused on embedded machine vision.

Embedded Vision: Giving

Machines the Power of Sight

By Sally Ward-Foxton
A n explosion of new technologies is bringing AI-enabled vision to

more applications — everything from industrial robotics to household
appliances.
The rapid pace of innovation and the struggle to keep up have also
contributed to hardware and software fragmentation. The situation is complicated
by an engineering skills gap amplified by steady technology advances. For example,
development tools and kits have so far been largely neglected.
We examine how those gaps can be filled as embedded-vision technology
advances, addressing innovations shaping AI-based vision systems. Those ecosys-
tem components include depth-sensing technologies, neural network advances, and
standards development.
Jeff Bier, founder of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, describes five trends within
the embedded-vision market, including complex vision pipelines and democratized
development. “If there’s a mega-trend here, it’s this: We’re living in a golden era of
innovation in embedded vision,” Bier asserts.
Sally Ward-Foxton in London considers whether attention-based neural networks,
which have revolutionized the field of natural-language processing, could do the
same for embedded vision.
Nitin Dahad, editor-in-chief of Embedded, explores toolchain development
and how to cope with the rapid pace of innovation in the embedded-vision sector.
Algorithms and silicon have attracted investment, but tool developers are playing
catchup. Tool development is compensating for a lingering skills gap by moving to
higher levels of abstraction.
Gina Roos, editor-in-chief of Electronic Products, examines Synaptics’s
embedded-vision market strategy. Best known for its interface products, Synaptics is
pushing into the edge AI market.
Anne-Françoise Pelé, editor-in-chief of EE Times Europe, takes a closer look at
depth sensing in embedded-vision systems, including stereo vision, structured light,
and time-of-flight sensing technologies.
Werner Feith of the European Machine Vision Association discusses the path to
standardization in an extremely diverse and fast-moving industry. Feith’s organi-
zation, along with the Khronos Group, is gauging interest in an API standard for
controlling embedded cameras and sensors.
Finally, Phil Lapsley, co-founder of consulting firm BDTI and one of the organizers
of the 2021 Embedded Vision Summit, describes the tipping point for embedded-
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK truly ubiquitous, he writes. ■
vision technology. The industry is maturing to the point where it will soon become

Sally Ward-Foxton is editor-in-chief of EE Times Weekend.