This article was originally published on May 9, 2022.
Editor’s Note: This content is contributed by Cindy Lee, Product Marketing Manager
We all know that designing and prototyping with a new architecture isn’t easy, and some may wonder where to start. The good news is that there is a lot of information that users can explore on the Versal® architecture, including documents, training courses, example designs, tools, and libraries. Even better news is evaluation kits with production devices are available for anyone who wants to develop next-gen applications in 5G, data center, wired/wireless, automotive, and test & measurement.
Versal AI Core Series VCK190 Evaluation Kit
With the Versal AI Core series VCK190 Evaluation Kit, system designers can develop solutions with the Versal AI Core VC1902 ACAP, providing the portfolio's highest AI inference and signal processing throughput. The evaluation kit comes with schematic, board files, example designs, and more resources to jump-start prototyping and application development with the VCK190.
Targeted Reference Designs
One of key resources for the VCK190 users is targeted reference designs (TRDs). As the name suggests, TRDs are built to demonstrate the Versal architecture and its functionality on the specific evaluation board with the end application in mind. TRDs are the fastest way to explore the capabilities of Versal devices with recommended tool flows for building the design.
Video and Machine Learning (ML) TRD
Let’s take a look at one of TRDs we’re offering. The TRD shows typical system functions needed for vision-based analytics in automotive, security, and industrial applications. In the demo video of the TRD, multiple live camera feeds are captured over image sensor modules, go through image pre-processing, and then fed into machine learning models to perform automotive driver assisted functions such as lane tracking, segmentation, and driver monitoring, followed by post processing to be displayed. The reference design accelerates all image processing machine learning (ML) workloads by mapping them to appropriate Versal ACAP features. Versal ACAPs have the ability to run multiple ML models running on different live camera feeds simultaneously.
Getting Started
With a breadth of connectivity options and a rich set of eco system partners, VCK190 users can leverage these TRDs as a framework for building and customizing platforms for their designs. We have developed three TRDs to cover key features in the Versal AI Core devices. Visit GitHub pages to access the three TRDs below:
To learn more about the Versal AI Core VCK190 evaluation kit, visit www.xilinx.com/vck190.