NTT unveiled a custom built inference chip designed to allow drones to process 4K ultra high definition video in real time.
The company noted its AI inference large-scale integration (LSI) chip delivers high-speed, low power performance, enabling real time decision making directly at the edge without the need to push data to the cloud.
The move is aimed at tackling long standing challenges of latency, bandwidth consumption and energy efficiency for data intensive applications.
In a statement, NTT explained in edge scenarios traditional AI devices can be constrained by power limits and computational trade-offs.
As a result, it noted, 4K video is often shrunk down to lower resolution, sacrificing clarity and making small or distant objects harder to detect.
NTT’s chip is said to tackle this issue by enabling full resolution 4K object detection at 30 frames per second while staying below 20 watts of power consumption.
The company asserted the chip allows drones to accurately spot passersby and vehicles from altitudes up to 150 metres.
Use cases include for traffic monitoring, infrastructure inspection and person detection in live event footage.