Smile for the Camera!
- $132.76B Market Capitalization
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD.Q) announced today that the Versal™ AI Core series has been selected by Canon, a Japanese multinational company specializing in optical, imaging, and industrial products. The Company’s technology will be used in Canon’s Free Viewpoint Video System, which is expected to “revolutionize the viewing experience of live sports broadcasts and webcasts.”
“The Canon camera system really puts the viewer in the game like never before. At the heart of Canon’s cutting-edge systems is the Versal AI Core series delivering the low latency edge-processing that is key to heralding this new era in live sports broadcasts,” said Yousef Khalilollahi, VP, Asia Pacific, at AMD.
So, what is Canon’s Free Viewpoint Video System? The company’s system is comprised of a ring of high-resolution cameras that surround a stadium. This allows broadcast viewers to watch the action from practically any angle. Right, but how does this differ from traditional broadcasting? A traditional NFL game deploys approximately 12 to 20 cameras to capture numerous angles of the field.
In this sense, standard broadcasting and Canon’s Free Viewpoint Video System are similar. However, Canon’s system will move the intelligence of AI-based video processing to the edge. This is where AMD’s technology comes into play. Earlier this year, on February 14, 2022, AMD’s Valentine was Xilinx, an America-based technology and semiconductor company.
The Company announced that it had officially completed its acquisition of Xilinx, which was originally announced on October 27, 2020. Included in this acquisition was Xilinx Versal, an Adaptive Compute Acceleration Platform (ACAP). In particular, the company’s Versal AI Core series delivers AI inference and wireless acceleration with integrated AI engines.
Push Me to the Edge
These engines are capable of outputting performance over 100 times greater than traditional server-class CPUs. The Versal AI Core series is intended for a wide range of applications, including 5G radio, data center compute, video processing at the edge, and medical image processing, to name just a few. In Canon’s case, the Versal AI Core will be used to deliver machine learning-based video processing at the edge.
“This single-chip Versal solution allows our system to do more in real-time than we ever envisioned possible…Versal AI Core’s powerful edge-processing capabilities enable our system to handle multiple functions simultaneously so broadcasters can deliver new and immersive viewing experiences,” said Masanori Yamada, senior Managing Executive Officer, Head of Imaging Group, Canon.
What am I referring to when I say edge? To summarize, edge computing is intended to improve response times and save bandwidth by bringing data processing closer to the source. Some examples of edge devices include IoT sensors, laptops, smartphones, and in this case, cameras. With this in mind, AMD’s Versal will enable high-performance and ultra-low latency processing.
This will significantly reduce image processing time, allowing live replays to be produced practically in real-time. In comparison, processing can take several minutes when using traditional architecture. Furthermore, Canon’s technology will also enable live broadcast networks to monetize live event metrics such as game and player statistics.
Looking forward, Canon plans to deploy its system at multiple professional basketball arenas in the United States as well as other premier sports venues around the world. It should be noted that the live streaming video market for sports is expected to grow more than 21% per year between 2021 and 2028. Specifically, the market is expected to grow from $18.1 billion in 2021 to $87.3 billion by 2028.
AMD’s share price opened at $85.71 today, down from a previous close of $86.16. The Company’s shares were down -5.03% and were trading at $81.80 as of 11:24 AM EDT.
