GAPPoc AI development boards based on the GAP8 RISC-V Chip

GreenWaves has developed a development board based on the GAP8 chip which can be evaluated from a GAPuino board, a generic board that can run off a low power external power source or USB and is compatible with the Arduino ecosystem. Recently the company moved beyond the generic board to the GAPPoc, platform which stands for GAP8 Proof of Concept.

The GAPPoc is focused on a class of applications which can be embedded on a single board and able to carry hardware such as crystal or external memory, sensors, a radio fit, and a battery. The board will be geared towards a set of low power functions for a particular class of applications. This is a family of boards designed to increase the range of abilities in edge Artificial Intelligence. At this time there is only a single board with a platform to enhance AI, targeting Computer Vision in the visible spectrum.

The variant that has been developed is the GAPPoc-A, Computer Vision Concept Board the first member of the family of boards. The architecture of a GAPPoc-A is based around a GAPMod core module at the heart of the board. In essence, it is a GAP8 chip with attendant memory, both flash, and RAM. A low power crystal oscillator and power management functions round out the core of the board. From this central processing system can be built various classes of applications.

The GAPMod core module has a GAP8 chip, and a very healthy external memory of 512Kbits Flash and 64Mbit of RAM. Along with the internal 4Mbit of RAM, the Hyperbus is delivering 1.2Mbit/s to the ports keeping up with even the most demanding algorithms.

Features of the GAPPoc-A

- XVGA (752×480), 1/3’’ monochrome sensor
- ON Semiconductor’s MT9V034
- S-mount for interchangeable standard M12 lens
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module from uBlox
- Compact on-board antenna

For even more expandability the GAPPoc also offers an ultra-low-profile Hirose DF40 connector which can handle a variety of power supplies and interface signals such as I2C, SPI, GPIO, I2S, etc. This would allow for a small extension board to be attached to the main GAPPoc board and could provide additional features (Time-of-Flight, ambient light sensors, microphones or even a PIR.

The GAP8 IoT Application Processor chip further enhances the GAPPoc’s ability to process data at ultra-low power levels allowing the analyzation and classification of data next to the sensor without the need to upload to the cloud and risk breaching privacy terms.

This first member of the GAPPoc family of GAP8 AI boards is already showing signs of being a valued member of the AI movement. See product page for details.

Stephen Vicinanza

Stephen started writing about technology after publishing sci-fi short stories. His first White-Paper, written in 2008, was well received and inspired him to continue writing about technology. Today he writes in the technology space full time, covering a multitude of topics. During the time he wrote part-time he edited hundreds of titles for large publishers, in science and technology. He lives in Staten Island, with his wife and children.