AI-powered edge computing is already pervasive in our lives. Devices like drones, smart wearables, and industrial IoT sensors are equipped with AI-enabled chips so that computing can occur at the “edge” of the internet, where the data originates. This allows real-time processing and guarantees data privacy.
However, AI functionalities on these tiny edge devices are limited by the energy provided by a battery. Therefore, improving energy efficiency is crucial. In today’s AI chips, data processing and data storage happen at separate places – a compute unit and a memory unit. The frequent data movement between these units consumes most of the energy during AI processing, so reducing the data movement is the key to addressing the energy issue.