BrainChip has launched the AKD1500 Raspberry Pi 5 Development Kit, which pairs Raspberry Pi 5 with an AKD1500 M.2 board for low-power, always-on AI development. The kit is designed to let developers evaluate applications on the same AKD1500 chip they can use in production.
The company says edge devices such as sensors, monitors, wearables, industrial equipment and smart home products increasingly need to listen, watch or measure continuously. Running AI on conventional processors means analyzing every frame and sample, which can drain batteries and add heat. Sending data to the cloud adds latency, bandwidth cost and privacy risk, while teaching a deployed model something new typically involves collecting data, retraining in the cloud and pushing an update.
The AKD1500 uses BrainChip’s event-based, neuromorphic architecture to process meaningful events rather than every piece of incoming data. Processing takes place on the device, and the chip supports on-chip learning so models can learn new classes without cloud retraining. Developers can teach an application to recognize a new keyword, gesture or object in the field, with data remaining local.
Teams can evaluate applications on Raspberry Pi 5, then design the same AKD1500 chip into a product using a PCIe or SPI interface. BrainChip says kit support will include Docker images for benchmarking, demos and as references for custom neuromorphic application containers. Developers with a Raspberry Pi 5 and an M.2 HAT can also add the production AKD1500 M.2 card and use the same software.
Key features of the kit include a familiar Raspberry Pi 5 platform; event-based processing for continuous sensing workloads; local learning without cloud retraining or data leaving the device; free MetaTF software tools and models through the BrainChip Developer Hub; and the same AKD1500 chip for prototyping and production.
Steve Brightfield, chief product officer at BrainChip, said: “Raspberry Pi is where many edge AI products begin. This kit puts neuromorphic AI where developers already work and gives teams a fast, low-cost way to validate applications on streaming data.”
The AKD1500 Raspberry Pi 5 Development Kit is available now through the BrainChip Shop. MetaTF software tools and models are available at no charge through the BrainChip Developer Hub.
