Edge AI

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Edge AI

Empowering Devices, Leading the Future

Overview

In the era of IoT, Edge AI is becoming the core driver of intelligent implementation. With cutting-edge computing architecture and hardware-software co-design, Realtek delivers high-performance, low-power, and cost-efficient Edge AI solutions, enabling intelligence at the device level.

The core technology that empowers these devices with "intelligence" is machine learning, a technique that enables computers to automatically learn patterns from data without explicit programming. At its essence, it involves training a model on historical data to make accurate predictions or decisions for new, unseen data. The basic workflow is illustrated below:

machine learning pipeline

Sound & Sensing

Category Applications
Voice Interaction
  • Wake word detection
  • Speech recognition for touchless device control
  • Queue system voice synthesis for callouts
Speech Paralinguistics
  • Voice-based child lock for appliances
  • Emotion recognition for feedback or personalized services
  • Gender/age recognition for tailored content delivery
Sound Event Detection
  • Glass breakage, car alarms
  • Infant crying detection
  • Abnormal noise detection in industrial/appliance operation
  • Health monitoring (cough frequency, snoring intensity/patterns)
Environment/Personnel Sensing
  • Ambient noise level detection
  • Scene inference (indoor/outdoor) for adaptive device modes
  • Auto-shutdown of AC/lighting when unoccupied
  • Smart home climate & lighting control

Image & Video

Category Applications
Visual Interaction
  • Gesture recognition for touchless device control
  • Facial expression recognition for emotional feedback or personalized services
  • Gaze tracking
Image Processing
  • Face recognition
  • Motion detection for security alerts, lighting control, etc.
  • OCR (digit/character recognition), license plate recognition
  • Object detection (people, pets, vehicles)
  • Smart retail shelf inventory monitoring
  • Autonomous checkout in retail
  • Agricultural pest detection & prediction
Environmental Sensing
  • Smoke detection for fire prevention
  • Ambient light detection for smart lighting
  • Scene inference (day/night) for adaptive device modes
  • Robotic arm obstacle avoidance

Maintenance & Alert

Category Applications
Industrial
  • Vibration and temperature monitoring (machine tools, motors, compressors)
  • Predictive maintenance for mechanical components (gearboxes, bearings)
  • Temperature and humidity monitoring
  • Flow rate and gas concentration monitoring
Agriculture
  • Irrigation system pressure and flow monitoring
  • Smart climate control for grain storage
  • Harvester blade vibration analysis for failure prediction
Transportation
  • Structural health monitoring (bridges, roads, tunnels)
  • Vehicle anomaly detection
  • Train/metro wheel wear prediction and brake system monitoring
Building & Home
  • Elevator, boiler room, and HVAC system monitoring
  • Smart building fire sprinkler pressure monitoring
  • Intrusion detection for smart security
  • Abnormal vibration detection in appliances (washing machines, refrigerators, AC units)

Key Advantages

Full-Scenario Edge AI Product Portfolio
  • Scalable computing chips from lightweight to high-performance for diverse requirements
  • Select models integrate Arm Cortex™-A32 or HiFi DSP processors for AI acceleration
  • Independent application core and network core with multi-core collaboration ensuring stable low-latency AI performance
High-Speed Wi-Fi for AI Applications
  • Hybrid edge-cloud architecture enabling remote monitoring/control
  • Multi-protocol support for cross-platform cloud service integration
  • Real-time critical data transmission with second-level alert
Multi-interface Expansion for Enhanced AI Sensing
  • Multi-modal sensor support (audio/visual/temperature/humidity/vibration)
  • Standardized interface protocols for rapid device integration
  • Flexible peripheral expansion for scenario-specific customization

Typical Applications

  • Smart Industry: Real-time equipment monitoring via vibration sensors enables predictive maintenance and AI-powered product sorting
  • Smart Agriculture: Wi-Fi R-Mesh networks integrate temperature/humidity sensors and pest-monitoring cameras for synchronized field data collection and smart irrigation

  • Smart Retail: Camera-based footfall analytics, shelf monitoring, and product recognition enable real-time customer behavior tracking
  • Smart Buildings: Integrated light sensors and facial recognition access systems achieve adaptive energy management and contactless access control
  • Smart Home: Coordinated climate control and AI voice assistants optimize environment parameters and enable natural language device interaction

Development Resources

SDK icon SDK Download Link
Doc icon TensorFlowLite-Micro Development Guide Link
Contact icon Contact Us Link

Recommended ICs

Features Filter RTL872xD RTL8721Dx RTL8721F RTL8720E RTL8710E RTL8726E RTL8713E RTL8730E RTL8735B
Application
Processor
Cortex-M Cortex-M Cortex-M Cortex-M Cortex-M Cortex-M Cortex-M Cortex-A Cortex-M
DSP
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
ISP?
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
TrustZone
1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1
Dual Band?
1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
Wi-Fi6
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
R-MESH?
0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ultra-low power
1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ethernet
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
BT Dual Mode
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
HMI?
1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Audio ADC?
1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
Audio DAC?
1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
USB
1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
BT Dedicated
Antenna?
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0