MediaTek Accelerates Design of Smart Connected Devices With New Rich IoT Program Based on Open Standards

HSINCHU, Taiwan, May 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MediaTek today announced a rich IoT program to bring a series of AI-enabled chipset platforms to companies that want to innovate and develop products across the intelligent devices market. The platform, based on open and industry standard software and hardware, is founded on MediaTek's commercially proven chipsets that today power most voice, smart speaker, display-centric and AI-infused devices available globally.  

Under the new program, MediaTek is unveiling new chipsets that include powerful edge AI technology for voice, display, object recognition and other features needed for today's smart IoT devices. In addition, MediaTek has aligned with independent design houses in China, Europe and the U.S., including BayLibre and StreamUnlimited. The design houses support the MediaTek chipsets with industry standard software and offer the needed hardware, software and technical support for companies designing AI devices with MediaTek's AI IoT platforms.

"We are bringing AI to mainstream Internet of Things products to make it easier for diverse industries to access MediaTek chipsets and technologies through a value-add partner network," said Jerry Yu, MediaTek Corporate Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Intelligent Devices Business Group.

"The Internet of Things has entered its next phase. AI features are being integrated into nearly every type of consumer device imaginable. That means connected devices now require a processor to support AI applications, rather than a more limited microcontroller unit that has been historically used. MediaTek's rich IoT program lets companies of all sizes bring devices to market with advanced AI, multimedia and connectivity features," said Yu.  

The AI IoT market is poised for growth as connected devices need to do more processing at the edge and are being integrated into new product lines. According to Market and Research, an industry research group, IoT will represent 83% of the entire AI chipset market by 2023. And globally, AI in the embedded IoT devices market will approach $26 billion (USD) by 2023. 

The chipsets in MediaTek's new program have a variety of standard-based support through the design houses, including an evaluation kit that will be offered to companies through Seeed Studios. Features supported on the platform through the design houses include:

• 4.19 Linux Kernel; Yocto 2.6; Android Pie 9.0
• OP-TEE (compatible with GlobalPlatform API specification)
• Amazon Voice Service with audio front end algorithms (wake-word engine, far-field)
• Connectivity such as Wi-Fi 5 and 4G.

MediaTek's AI and rich IoT chipsets are highly integrated, boast ultra-low power consumption to maximize battery life and deliver superior computing power (including CPU, GPU and AI Processing Units) to support next generation AI devices. The chipsets have Arm's TrustZone  security built-in and come with long term support – up to seven years -  for operating system updates and security patches.

MediaTek is already the No. 1 chipmaker for voice assistant devices (VAD), working with the world's most well-known brands to power intelligent devices including smart speakers. With this new program, MediaTek wants to spur AI innovation by making it easier for enterprises, startups, emerging brands and leading OEMs in diverse markets to design IoT devices with AI capabilities such as face, object and voice recognition.

MediaTek is initially focused on three primary AI IoT segments with its rich IoT program:

• Voice Enabled Devices: To enable more products with voice assistant capability like smart speakers, washers and dryers, dishwashers, cooking appliances, smart locks and more.
• Display and Screen Devices: Products that need a smart display or act as a smart hub like thermostats, head-mounted displays, point of sale terminals, exercise equipment and more.
• AI Vision Devices: Products and devices that need to recognize objects or people like smart security systems, smart ovens, robots, drones and many other products that can benefit from AI recognition or computer vision technology.

Today's IoT products need support for a camera, display, video, rich multimedia and connectivity. MediaTek has long focused on these core technologies and deep SOC integration. It's one of the few companies that brings together all the necessary technologies for the mass deployment of connected AI devices.

MediaTek global collaborators have added their support for the new rich IoT program:

BayLibre innovates at the intersection of the semiconductor industry and the Internet of Things. The company authors board support packages and develops Linux & U-boot drivers for the semiconductor industry. BayLibre helps take OEMs to market by offering the open source Rity SDK for a full voice assistant-enabled audio solution.

"Developed in close partnership with MediaTek, the open source Rity SDK offers an exceptionally fast time to market for voice assistant devices without compromising the flexibility and quality expected by OEMs creating the next disruptive product in the IoT, Audio, and Voice Assistant market segments," said BayLibre CEO  Michael Turquette.

StreamSDK is an industry-proven smart audio solution that powers multiple tier-1 voice assistant and streaming devices in the market. Jawad Haider, Head of Business Development and Partnerships for North America at StreamUnlimited said: "We're expanding our offerings by adding dedicated IoT functionality to our SDK, that will help enable a plethora of new use cases centered around voice assistants, music streaming, and smart home functions. MediaTek's rich IoT program will help usher in the next generation of intelligent audio products."

Seeed Studios helps produce and provide global access to the next generation of AI enabled IoT products through its manufacturing and distribution services.  "Seeed Studio is proud to support MediaTek's Rich IoT program. We bring over ten years of experience to the initiative utilizing our extensive supply chain network and providing agile manufacturing and global distribution services," said Eric Pan, CEO of of Seeed Studios. 

For more details visit MediaTek's Rich IoT program.

About MediaTek Inc.                                                                 

MediaTek Incorporated (TWSE: 2454) is a global fabless semiconductor company that enables 1.5 billion connected devices a year. They are a market leader in developing innovative systems-on-chip (SoC) for mobile device, home entertainment, connectivity and IoT products. Their dedication to innovation has positioned us as a driving market force in several key technology areas, including highly power-efficient mobile technologies and advanced multimedia solutions across a broad range of products such as smartphones, tablets, digital televisions, OTT boxes, wearables and automotive solutions. MediaTek empowers and inspires people to expand their horizons and more easily achieve their goals through smart technology. They call this idea Everyday Genius and it drives everything they do. Visit www.mediatek.com for more information.

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