By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Today at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany, Wi-Fi IoT silicon leader Synaptics introduced the world’s first Wi-Fi 7 chipset solution designed specifically for wireless IoT and AI at the edge. Expect the new SYN765X platform to power a new generation of ultra-smart home appliances, home automation hubs, as well as ultra-smart devices for industrial IoT. Synaptics is front running the competition by betting on a new generation of mainstream IoT devices with embedded AI – and they’re probably right.
Has the time for ultra-smart wireless IoT client devices based on embedded AI finally arrived? If you ask Synaptics, the answer is a resounding YES. Today at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany, Synaptics launched the world’s first Wi-Fi 7 tri-band chip designed specifically for IoT clients. This is the first time mid and lower tier IoT devices will be able to benefit from both much improved Wi-Fi connectivity and AI-based, on-device intelligence, the company says.
“This chip brings together outstanding wireless connectivity and on-board intelligence – which means we’re really enabling a new generation of smarter IoT devices. We’re talking about bringing together 50 GOPs of NPU power with Wi-Fi 7 capability delivering a sustained throughput of 20 Mbps at 150 meters. We expect this will usher in a class of sophisticated IoT devices never seen before,” says Shishir Gupta, VP Product Marketing & Customer Engineering at Synaptics.
In terms of radio specs the SYN765X incorporates 1 x 1 Wi-Fi 7 (with 20 MHz channels in all Wi-Fi bands including 6 GHz), Bluetooth 6.0, as well as Thread & Zigbee – which also prepares the platform for Matter certification. The use of the mostly pristine 6 GHz band will ensure largely interference-free Wi-Fi connectivity – an increasingly important choice of operating band as the density of connected Wi-Fi devices within homes and industry continues to rise. Meanwhile the chip is designed for low power consumption and even includes an integrated RF front end for an optimised client PCB footprint, Synaptics says.
Expect a host of new AI-based features and services
“For home appliances, the SYN765X will enable best-in-class connectivity, self-contained intelligence, and specialised MCU hardware within a single, compact PCB design. Add to this that the boost in RF performance will more easily allow connectivity through metal casings, which are common for washing machines and a host of other appliance types. For security cameras, the built-in NPU will offload image processors while a variety of sensors can be incorporated, which is also the case for example for intelligent thermostats,” Shishir Gupta says.
Synaptics expects that a host of high-value AI-enabled services will be developed to run (for the most part) locally on SYN765X-powered devices. Wi-Fi sensing can be included to detect motion, presence, and possibly even human breathing. Voice commands and sound detection can be used to control appliances or alert users of security events – such as glass breaking or babies crying, Synaptics says.
“We’re excited to be enabling – together with our clients – the truly smart home that will add lots of convenience, security, and quality of life to end users. Add to this a long list of industrial IoT use cases, many of which will be unique and never seen before due to this new chips combined RF and AI capabilities. We think we just opened up for a new era,” Shishir Gupta says.
We will have more coverage of this shortly – stay tuned.
/Claus.
