All on-board: demand for on-device processing continuing to rise for product engineers

Three-quarters of engineers see increasing demand, despite existing high levels, as they seek to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into their devices

Seventy-five percent of engineers are seeing demands for on-device processing grow year-on-year – despite the fact that 73% already have ‘high/very high’ requirements – according to new research from processing specialist XMOS.

The Edge of Now report, the latest in a three-year series of reports exploring engineering attitudes towards the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT), has connected this rise to a growing appetite for AI integration. 82% of engineers see the integration of AI into their products as a competitive advantage, with 63% identifying that integration as their top product priority in 2022.

This advantage inevitably comes from the prerequisite processing power, with established markets generating the most demand. Consumer technologies (43%) are considered the biggest opportunity for the AIoT by engineers, with the smart home (25%) close behind.

With 94% of engineers stating that the AIoT is going to make a difference on a global scale, the demand for the processing power that can help to enable such technologies is a natural step in the journey towards the establishment of the AIoT.

“Engineers in every sector have had ambitions to introduce genuine AI – meaning intelligent devices, rather than an intelligent cloud – for a long time”, commented Aneet Chopra, VP of Business Development, Marketing and Product Management, XMOS. “Expanding processing capabilities is fundamental in doing so, and as the barriers to the AIoT start to fall, we’re going to see more and more progress here.”

“Key to that progress is providing access to silicon that meets the performance and versatility criteria for engineers to pursue their goals within the financial restrictions of a project. It’s the market’s responsibility to provide a canvas for the artist, delivering a technological competence that frees the engineer to work at their best. At XMOS, we are already seeing AIoT applications being deployed on our xcore.ai platforms, an exciting beginning with great inevitable market growth”

The full Edge of Now report is available HERE.

Methodology:  Survey of 131 engineers, conducted between 02/03/22 and 15/03/22.