ZuSE Ki-Avf: Application-Specific AI Processor for Intelligent Sensor Signal Processing in Autonomous Driving

Design, Automation, and Test in Europe, pp. 1–6

Abstract

Modern and future AI-based automotive applications, such as autonomous driving, require the efficient real-time processing of huge amounts of data from different sensors, like camera, radar, and LiDAR. In the ZuSE-KI-AVF project, multiple university, and industry partners collaborate to develop a novel massive parallel processor architecture, based on a cus-tomized RISC-V host processor, and an efficient high-performance vertical vector coprocessor. In addition, a software development framework is also provided to efficiently program AI-based sensor processing applications. The proposed processor system was verified and evaluated on a state-of-the-art UltraScale+ FPGA board, reaching a processing performance of up to 126.9 FPS, while executing the YOLO-LITE CNN on 224x224 input images. Further optimizations of the FPGA design and the realization of the processor system on a 22nm FDSOI CMOS technology are planned.

Authors 27

1. Gia Bao Thieu

   Technische Universität Braunschweig

   Affiliation as printed

   Technische Universität Braunschweig,Chair for Chip Design for Embedded Computing,Germany

2. Sven Gesper

   Technische Universität Braunschweig

   Affiliation as printed

   Technische Universität Braunschweig,Chair for Chip Design for Embedded Computing,Germany

3. Guillermo Payá Vayá

   Technische Universität Braunschweig

   Affiliation as printed

   Technische Universität Braunschweig,Chair for Chip Design for Embedded Computing,Germany

4. Christoph Riggers

   Leibniz University Hannover

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Microelectronic Systems, Leibniz Universität,Hannover,Germany

5. Oliver Renke

   Leibniz University Hannover

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Microelectronic Systems, Leibniz Universität,Hannover,Germany

6. Till Fiedler

   Leibniz University Hannover

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Microelectronic Systems, Leibniz Universität,Hannover,Germany

7. Jakob Marten

   Leibniz University Hannover

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Microelectronic Systems, Leibniz Universität,Hannover,Germany

8. Tobias Stuckenberg

   Leibniz University Hannover

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Microelectronic Systems, Leibniz Universität,Hannover,Germany

9. Holger Blume

   Leibniz University Hannover

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Microelectronic Systems, Leibniz Universität,Hannover,Germany

10. Christian Weis

    University of Kaiserslautern

    Affiliation as printed

    Technische Universität,Microelectronic Systems Design Research Group,Kaiserslautern,Germany

11. Lukas Steiner

    University of Kaiserslautern

    Affiliation as printed

    Technische Universität,Microelectronic Systems Design Research Group,Kaiserslautern,Germany

12. Chirag Sudarshan

    University of Kaiserslautern

    Affiliation as printed

    Technische Universität,Microelectronic Systems Design Research Group,Kaiserslautern,Germany

13. Norbert Wehn

    University of Kaiserslautern

    Affiliation as printed

    Technische Universität,Microelectronic Systems Design Research Group,Kaiserslautern,Germany

14. Lennart M. Reimann Aachen Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems, RWTH Aachen University,Germany

    Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

15. Rainer Leupers Aachen Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems, RWTH Aachen University,Germany

    Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

16. Michael Beyer

    Robert Bosch (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Robert Bosch GmbH,Germany

    Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany

17. Alisa Jauch

    Robert Bosch (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Robert Bosch GmbH,Germany

    Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany

18. Jan Micha Borrmann

    Robert Bosch (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Robert Bosch GmbH,Germany

    Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany

19. Setareh Jaberansari

    Robert Bosch (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Robert Bosch GmbH,Germany

    Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany

20. Tim Berthold
    Affiliation as printed

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH,Germany

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH, Germany

21. Meinolf Blawat
    Affiliation as printed

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH,Germany

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH, Germany

22. Markus Kock
    Affiliation as printed

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH,Germany

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH, Germany

23. Gregor Schewior
    Affiliation as printed

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH,Germany

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH, Germany

24. Jens Benndorf
    Affiliation as printed

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH,Germany

    Dream chip Technologies GmbH, Germany

25. Frederik Kautz

    Cadence Design Systems (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Cadence Design Systems,Germany

    Cadence Design Systems, Germany

26. Hans-Martin Bluethgen

    Cadence Design Systems (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Cadence Design Systems,Germany

    Cadence Design Systems, Germany

27. Christian Sauer

    Cadence Design Systems (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Cadence Design Systems,Germany

    Cadence Design Systems, Germany