BeagleBoard Introduces 4Top/s AI Processor in Raspberry Pi Form Factor

The BeagleBoard organisation has recently unveiled an innovative 4Top/s-capable AI processor designed in the familiar Raspberry Pi form factor. This new processor is centered around the powerful Texas Instruments AM67A vision processor, offering a range of advanced features and capabilities.

Referred to as a link to a suitable Debian XFCE Linux distribution, the AM67A processor boasts a quad-core 64-bit Arm CPU subsystem, two general-purpose DSPs, matrix-multiply accelerators, GPU, vision and deep learning accelerators, as well as multiple Arm Cortex-R5 cores dedicated to low-latency GPIO control. According to BeagleBoard, users can fully leverage these compute capabilities through interfaces such as PCIe, USB3, and Gigabit Ethernet, along with various capture and display connectivity options.

The quad Arm cores within the processor run at 1.4GHz Cortex-A53, while the standout feature is the matrix multiply accelerator that delivers an impressive 4Top/s performance. Additionally, the processor incorporates Ti's C7x DSPs to further enhance its processing capabilities.

Equipped with 4GB of LPDDR4 memory, a microSD card socket, 802.11ax Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4, and MIPI-DSI with touchscreen support (multiplexed with MIPI-CSI), the board offers a comprehensive set of features for diverse applications. For display output, users can utilize the MicroHDMI port as the main display interface.

Notably, the hardware design of the AI processor is open-source, allowing for customization and modification by the community. While the name is copyrighted and requires proper attribution, the design files are available on GitHub for interested developers. For those looking to explore the capabilities of the BeagleY-AI product, links to the hardware design and a compatible Debian XFCE Linux distribution can be found on the official product page.