Maxim and Xailient provide world’s fastest and lowest-power IoT face detection

Maxim Integrated Products and Xailient Inc., a company focused on artificial intelligence (AI) for the edge, have joined forces. The companies have announced that Maxim’s MAX78000 ultra-low power neural-network microcontroller is used to detect and localize faces in video and images with Xailient’s proprietary Detectum neural network.

Xailient’s neural network draws 250x lower power (at just 280 microJoules) compared to conventional embedded solutions, and at 12 milliseconds (ms) per inference,. The network performs in real time and is faster than the most efficient face-detection solution available for the edge.

Battery-powered AI systems that require face detection, such as home cameras — industrial grade smart security cameras and retail solutions — require a low-power solution to provide the longest possible operation between charges.

“AI is on track to be the second largest carbon emitting industry,” said Dr. Shivy Yohanandan, Xailient CTO and inventor of Xailient’s Detectum neural network technology. “Replacing 14 legacy Internet protocol cameras that use traditional cloud AI with edge-based cameras equipped with the Maxim Integrated MAX78000 paired with Xailient’s neural network has the equivalent carbon impact of taking one gasoline powered car off the road.”

In addition to supporting standalone applications, Maxim’s microcontroller paired with Xailient’s neural network improves overall power efficiency and battery life of hybrid edge/cloud applications that employ a low-power ‘listening’ mode, which then awakens more complex systems when a face is detected.

Xailient’s Detectum neural network includes focus, zoom, and visual wake-word technologies to detect and localize faces in video and images at 76x faster rates than conventional software solutions, at similar or better accuracy.

Additionally, the flexible network can be extended to applications other than facial recognition, such as livestock inventory and monitoring, parking spot occupancy, inventory levels, and more.

Advantages

Longest battery life and highest energy efficiency: Xailient’s neural network optimizes the computational efficiency and flexible low-power sleep modes offered by Maxim Integrated’s ultra-low power MAX78000 microcontroller. Together, the products extend the operating time of coin cell battery-powered, hybrid edge/cloud applications for many years.
Fastest inference speed: Speed is a significant factor for AI because with faster inferencing, you can react in real time or quickly average multiple inferences to improve accuracy. Detecting faces in an image in just 12ms provides that flexibility between response time and accuracy.

“With the Xailient Detectum neural network, the MAX78000 is capable of both classification and localization, so in addition to seeing faces in the image or video you can also determine where those faces are in the image’s field of view,” said Robert Muchsel, Maxim Integrated Fellow and architect of the MAX78000 microcontroller. “Advanced applications include person, vehicle and object counting, presence or obstruction detection, as well as path mapping and footfall heatmaps.”