New hifi and vision DSPs for pervasive intelligence and edge AI inference portfolio

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. has expanded its Tensilica HiFi and Vision DSP families by introducing four new DSPs based on the recently announced Tensilica Xtensa LX8 processor platform. The new HiFi and Vision DSPs meet increasing system-level performance and AI necessities for an expanded range of applications – offering enhanced performance across multiple algorithms with even greater energy efficiency. The expanded portfolio includes the Tensilica HiFi 1s DSP and HiFi 5s DSP for audio/voice, lightweight imaging and AI applications and the Tensilica Vision 110 DSP and Vision 130 DSP for image sensor, camera, radar and lidar applications.

"With lengthy SoC design cycles and rapidly changing AI algorithms, our SoC customers require the utmost flexibility. On-device and edge AI systems feature numerous diverse sensors, so any AI inference solution must be adaptable to the end application requirements," said David Glasco, vice president of research and development for Tensilica IP at Cadence. "Designing with a system-level perspective is crucial, and these SoCs must be energy-efficient, flexible and future-proof to accommodate new neural networks. Cadence continues to make significant investments in our Tensilica product line, and our latest HiFi and Vision DSPs reflect that commitment."

The new HiFi and Vision DSPs benefit from the inherent advantages of the Xtensa LX8 platform, including native AMBA AXI support for lower latency and L2 cache for increased system performance. Branch prediction enables a 5% to 20% cycle reduction for the HiFi and Vision DSPs. Supported by the company's new NeuroWeave SDK, the DSPs can be paired with the Cadence Neo NPUs to offload AI inference workloads.

The new HiFi DSPs add more capabilities for lightweight imaging and AI to satisfy market demands – allowing them to serve as additional compute resources beyond just audio, either as a standalone solution or complementing the Vision DSPs and Neo NPUs. Individually and collectively, features significantly improve out-of-box performance – dramatically reducing time to market for OEMs and software developers.

"Hailo is developing powerful AI-centric vision processors serving the growing edge AI market. In our recently announced Hailo-15 device targeting the IP camera market, we've chosen to integrate Cadence's Tensilica DSP among the computational subsystems complementary to our proprietary neural engine," said Guy Kaminitz, VP VLSI at Hailo. "Cadence's Tensilica DSPs offer the performance and energy efficiency as well as the flexibility required for such heterogeneous devices."

"Kneron continues to develop market-leading SoCs for numerous on-device and edge AI applications, and selecting an efficient processor to complement our high-performance NPU is crucial," said Albert Liu, CEO of Kneron. "We continue to use Cadence Tensilica Vision DSPs, which provide the computational throughput and flexibility needed to keep up with today's complex AI workload requirements. Additionally, Tensilica's extensive framework of software libraries and strong partner ecosystem enable rapid deployment for fast time to market."

Tensilica HiFi and Vision DSPs support Cadence's Intelligent System Design strategy, enabling SoC design excellence. The HiFi 3z DSP, HiFi 4 DSP, ConnX 110 DSP, ConnX 120 DSP, MathX 110 DSP and MathX 130 DSP have also been upgraded to the Xtensa LX8 platform.

The Vision 110 DSP and Vision 130 DSP, as well as the upgraded ConnX 110 DSP, ConnX 120 DSP, MathX 110 DSP and MathX 130 DSP, are available now.