【Press Release】EIZO Corporation Completes Joint Performance Evaluation of Ultra Low Power AI Inference Accelerator IP “Efficiera”

EIZO Corporation Completes Joint Performance Evaluation of Ultra Low Power AI Inference Accelerator IP "Efficiera"

Completed joint performance evaluation of Efficiera with EIZO's visibility-enhancing system, for construction of an edge AI system

February 4th, 2021 – Tokyo, Japan - LeapMind Inc. (Shibuya, Tokyo; CEO: Soichi Matsuda), creator of the standard in edge AI, and EIZO Corporation (Hakusan, Ishikawa; President and CEO: Yoshitaka Jitsumori) have completed a joint performance evaluation of LeapMind's Efficiera ultra low power AI inference accelerator IP using EIZO's DuraVision EVS1VX visibility-enhancing system (released in Japan on August 25, 2020), for the construction of an edge AI system. The two companies will continue to aim for the goal of solving social issues by promoting joint development and evaluation utilizing Efficiera and achieving the installation of edge AI functions in video equipment.

Overview of Joint Performance Evaluation

EIZO collaborated in this joint performance evaluation based on their belief that the Efficiera ultra low power AI inference accelerator IP, which is a commercialized form of LeapMind's extremely low bit quantization, could be used in the construction of an edge AI system that will add analysis functions to EIZO's DuraVision EVS1VX visibility-enhancing system. By taking one of the features of Efficiera, the small footprint, it is possible to utilize the free space of the FPGA that is already installed in the DuraVision EVS1VX to achieve deep learning functions, without adding to or changing the hardware. This provides the advantage of keeping the overall system cost low. Through this joint performance evaluation, EIZO confirmed that it can achieve practical performance, and assessed the efficacy of Efficiera. Verification of the object detection model was completed in this joint performance evaluation. The companies will proceed with the verification of new models that will be added moving forward. LeapMind and EIZO will continue to use Efficiera to promote joint development and evaluation, with the goal of putting edge AI systems to practical application.

Comment from EIZO Corporation

As a visual technology company, EIZO works to provide imaging solutions to address issues faced by society and our customers. In collaboration with LeapMind, we have conducted a performance evaluation of Efficiera in the DuraVision EVS1VX visibility-enhancing system that was released on August 25, 2020. We view this as a promising technology for quickly adding analysis functions to high-quality and high-functionality video equipment that will allow us to make flexible proposals to address the diverse and complicated issues of today. Following four evaluations were conducted and the results confirmed the features of Efficiera and its usefulness:

(1) Resource usage rate on FPGA (2) Inference processing speed on FPGA (3) Accuracy of object detection (4) Generalization of object detection model

Utilizing technical support based on LeapMind's extensive knowledge, including tuning methods and the number of datasets, we were able to proceed with development and evaluation quickly, and were able to obtain a satisfactory level of accuracy in a short period of time. In the future, EIZO will use verification testing to further improve accuracy, in order to utilize this technology to solve social issues.

Comment from LeapMind Inc.

EIZO has had its eye on LeapMind's technology even before the commercialization of Efficiera, and they conducted their evaluation as this product was brought to market.

• We believe that this evaluation has confirmed the goals that we aimed for with Efficiera:
• By installing Efficiera in the free space of an existing FPGA, deep learning inference functions can be added without additional BoM cost.
• Circuit integration is possible in the actual FPGA design, not just the reference environment, achieving the target performance for challenges including object detection models.

Fine tuning tools allow custom object detection models that are optimized for Efficiera to be developed without coding. The feedback that we received during this evaluation will be applied to Efficiera products as soon as possible, and we will continue to make improvements in order to provide even better products and services. By continuing our efforts with EIZO, LeapMind will accelerate the practical application of edge AI systems that utilize Efficiera.

About EIZO's DuraVision EVS1VX

DuraVision EVS1VX analyzes video images to determine which data requires correction, performs visibility enhancement processing to make the data easier to recognize, and then displays the corrected data on the connected monitor in real time. This makes it easier to detect abnormalities visually and improves the accuracy of detecting abnormalities with AI. Therefore, this technology is expected to support the prevention of crime, the reliable detection of defects, and the safe maintenance of equipment, by allowing stable operation without relying on the skill of an operator. Official website (Japanese): https://www.eizo.co.jp/products/id/evs1vx/

About LeapMind's Efficiera

Efficiera is an ultra-low power AI inference accelerator IP that operates as a circuit on FPGA or ASIC/ASSP devices, and is specialized for CNN inference operations. It is scheduled to be officially released this autumn. Since the power efficiency and area efficiency of the convolution (which account for most of the inference processing) are maximized by the extremely low bit quantization that minimizes quantization to 1 or 2 bits, there is no need to use state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing processes or special cell libraries. It allows deep learning capabilities to be embedded in home electronics and other consumer appliances, construction machinery and other industrial equipment, surveillance cameras, and broadcasting equipment. It can also be embedded in various edge devices where it was technically difficult to add deep learning capabilities before due to restrictions on power, cost, and heat dissipation, such as small machines and robots. Official website：https://leapmind.io/products/efficiera-ip/

About EIZO Corporation

EIZO (TSE:6737), which means image in Japanese, is a visual technology company that develops and manufactures high-end visual solutions to enrich people in their professional and personal lives. EIZO offers total imaging solutions with a range of monitors, software, video capture, processing, and distribution solutions, cameras, and advanced integrated technologies to meet the specialized needs of customers in business, creative fields, healthcare, air traffic control, maritime, security & surveillance, and more. Headquartered in Hakusan, Japan, EIZO has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Japan, China, Germany, and the United States, and representation in more than 90 countries.

About LeapMind Inc.

LeapMind Inc. was founded in 2012 with the corporate philosophy of "bringing new devices that use machine learning to the world". Total investment in LeapMind to date has reached 4.99 billion yen. The company's strength is in extremely low bit quantization for compact deep learning solutions. It has a proven track record of achievement with over 150 companies, centered in manufacturing including the automobile industry. It is also developing its Efficiera semiconductor IP, based on its experience in the development of both software and hardware.

Head office: Shibuya Dogenzaka Sky Building 5F, 28-1 Maruyama-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0044 Representative: Soichi Matsuda, CEO Established: December 2012 URL：https://leapmind.io/en/ *EIZO and DuraVision are registered trademarks of EIZO Corporation in Japan and other countries. Other product names in this text are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeapMind Inc. *The information in this press release is current as of the date of publication.

Media Contact Shiho Takai, Marketing Communication Division, LeapMind Inc. TEL: 813-6696-6267, EMAIL: pr@leapmind.io

Sales Contact Efficiera Division, Business Development Team, LeapMind Inc. TEL：813-6696-6267, EMAIL：business@leapmind.io LeapMind株式会社 Blueoil Division　Business Development Team TEL：03-6696-6267 MAIL：business@leapmind.io