German IoT specialist MatchX has launched a development kit designed to combine edge artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration with low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) connectivity: EdgeX AI.

"EdgeX is perfectly suited for applications requiring edge computing of visual or other types of data with low energy consumption," the company claims. "Highly processed information can be then transferred through a low power, low data rate radio channel thanks to embedded LPWAN transceiver.

The EdgeX AI includes SOM, carrier board, camera, microphone, and display. (📷: MatchX)

"The unique combination of AI module + camera + LoRaWAN + microphone offers new opportunities for the expansion of IoT applications and creates new possibilities in the LPWAN world. For example, a camera installed on a window with an AI module can use deep learning algorithms for detecting free parking spaces in close proximity to your house. The AI module carries out all the computational processes enabling the edge processing of video material. The results are converted into 'simple data' that can be sent through the LoRa network energy efficiently over long distances."

The system-on-module (SoM) development kit is based around MatchX's own MX1941 AI SOM, which takes a Kendryte K210 system-on-chip (SoC) and combines it with a Semtech SX1261 transceiver suitable for LoRaWAN use. The Kendryte SoC, meanwhile, includes a dual-core 64-bit processor based on the free and open source RISC-V instruction set architecture along with a proprietary accelerator coprocessor for neural networking workloads dubbed the Kendryte Processing Unit, or KPU.

MatchX is positioning the kit as a plug-and-play solution for edge- AI development, pricing it at $199 — up from a pre-launch $150 target — with integrated microphone, camera, and LCD panel. More information on the kit itself can be found on the MatchX website, and the product is now available to order from the company's Tindie store.