RT-Thread Targets Energy-Efficient Edge AI, ML with the Compact All-In-One Edgi-Talk Board

Shanghai-based RT-Thread has launched a crowdfunding campaign for the Edgi-Talk, an all-in-one development board based around Infineon's PSOC Edge system-on-chip, designed for machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML and AI) work at a low power draw.

"Edgi-Talk is a polished reference design for Infineon’s latest PSOC Edge device, which features a high-performance Arm Cortex-M55 processor, Helium DSP technology, an Arm Ethos-U55 micro NPU, a low-power Cortex-M33 processor, and an ultra-low-power NNLite neural network accelerator," RT-Thread explains. "The development board comes pre-bundled with the XiaoZhi AI large language model, enabling smooth and intelligent interaction right out of the box. Whether you’re building a voice assistant prototype, creating a smart sensor hub, or developing the next generation of human-computer interfaces, this reference design allows developers to easily achieve real-time and responsive AI experiences."

The device, dominated by a 4.3" MIPI Display Serial Interface (DSI)-connected color touchscreen at the front, is powered by Infineon's PSOC Edge E84, a low-power chip targeting on-device ML and AI workloads with high power efficiency. It includes an Arm Cortex-M55 core running at 400MHz and a Cortex-M33 core running at 200MHz, plus an Ethos-U55 neural coprocessor alongside Infineon's in-house NNLite neural coprocessor — designed for ultra-low-power operation. There's 128MB of pseudo-static SRAM (PSRAM) plus 128MB of quad-SPI flash storage expandable via microSD Card.

Elsewhere on the board is an Infineon AIROC CYW55512 dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 6.0 Low Energy (BLE) radio module, an AHT20 temperature and humidity sensor, LSM6DS3TR six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU), two digital microphones, a 1W amplifier — though no integrated speaker — and expansion including PMOD and 40-pin Raspberry Pi general-purpose input/output (GPIO) connectors with DAP/Trace, I2C, UART, and SPI buses, plus USB High Speed support.

"Edgi-Talk has reliable connectivity suitable for IoT [Internet of Things], smart homes, wearables, and industrial applications," RT-Thread claims of its creation. "Edgi-Talk was designed to be powered either via USB or by an internal battery. While Edgi-Talk comes with a USB Type-C cable, it does not come with a battery. However, you can easily install a standard 500mAh 502540 LiPo battery commonly available for use with many other devices."

The Edgi-Talk is currently funding on Crowd Supply, priced at $139; hardware is expected to begin shipping in late February next year. More information, and sample source code, is available in the project's GitHub repository.