GreenWaves Technologies has officially launched GAP8, its RISC-V based low-power application processor for Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Based on the work of the Parallel Ultra Low Power (PULP) project, GAP8 was first shown off as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) core back in March 2017. Now, it’s physical silicon boasting an eight-core computational cluster and on-board convolutional neural network (CNN) accelerator capable, its creators claim of such feats as always-on face detection while drawing mere milliwatts of power, presence detection, and support for four-microphone voice capture and 10-word speaker-independent keyword spotting.

“GAP8 differs radically from the flurry of other AI focused processors, which target either far more complex applications that can’t be battery powered or much narrower application spaces. Instead, GAP8 is precisely positioned at the crossroads of the AI, IoT, and MCU [microcontroller unit] worlds. The autonomous operation enabled by GAP8 dramatically reduces the deployment and operating costs of image, sound, and vibration sensing devices, enabling an unprecedented scale of adoption,” says Loïc Liétar, co-founder and chief executive of GreenWaves Technologies. “Furthermore, building on the RISC-V and PULP open source projects has allowed us to bring to market radical innovation with an outstanding capital efficiency at a speed that allows us to promptly serve customer demand.”

“GreenWaves’ GAP8 shows first-hand how open technology enables innovation at an amazing speed, while dramatically reducing cost compared to traditional embedded design,” adds Rick O’Connor, executive director of the non-profit RISC-V Foundation. “We are excited to continue to witness start-ups and established companies alike take full advantage of the flexibility and extensibility of the free, open RISC-V architecture to create innovative, custom embedded solutions.”

Information on the GAPUINO GAP8 developer kit, which is available for pre-order now, can be found on the official website.