Adaptive Computing Challenge 2021

Combine the power of Xilinx adaptive computing platforms with Vivado® ML, Vitis™ unified software platform, and Vitis AI development environment to solve real-world problems!

Xilinx makes adaptive computing accessible to hardware, software, and AI developers alike. Serving many industries like automotive, data center, healthcare, wireless communication, and many more, adaptive computing is behind the innovations changing the world, empowering a new generation of intelligent, efficient applications.

This year’s challenge consists of three new categories: Edge Computing, Data Center AI and Big Data Analytics. Each category will have a top prize of $10,000 USD!

To foster innovation in adaptive compute acceleration in the academic setting, we have a special $2,500 cash award sponsored by the Xilinx University Program (XUP), where university students can submit their projects in addition to the three regular contest categories.

We are also introducing another special award “Women in Technology” with a cash prize of $2,500 USD. Teams composed by a majority (50% or more) of women are eligible to submit their project for this award in addition to the three regular contest categories.

Sign up for the Xilinx Developer Program to get started! After applying for free hardware on the contest page, take the hardware quiz to qualify.

Category 1: Edge Computing with Xilinx Kria™ KV260 Vision AI Starter Kit

AI-enabled applications are increasingly being deployed at the edge. Cities are becoming safer with automated vision applications, Industrial IoT applications are requiring high-performance AI inference processing, and even retail is changing with smart check-out experiences. These applications require high performance and must be delivered in an efficient, reliable, and compact form factor.

We are looking for the best use of Xilinx Kria KV260 Vision AI Starter Kit, along with Vitis / Vitis AI to build edge computing applications.

Application Examples

• Smart Camera, AI Box with ReID, Defect Detection, AI Box for Auto License Plate Recognition, Facial Recognition, NLP-SmartVision

Requirements

• Use Xilinx Kria KV260 Vision AI Starter Kit + Basic Accessory pack
• Use Vitis and or Vitis AI

See other eligible hardware for this category in Submission Requirements.

Resources

• KV260 Quick Start Curriculum

Category 2: Data Center AI with Xilinx VCK5000 development card

Data centers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to manage various tasks from monitoring equipment to server optimization. At the heart of the data center, FPGA-based adaptive computing is proving itself to be, in many cases, the most efficient and cost-effective solution for running complex AI workloads.

Xilinx VCK5000 development card is designed for designs requiring high throughput AI inference and signal processing compute performance. You can run Tensorflow, Pytorch, Caffe models using Python or C++ APIs in minutes without any prior hardware knowledge about FPGA.

We want to see the best use of VCK5000 combined with Vitis AI to accelerate AI inference.

Application Examples

• Image classification, objection detection, segmentation, video analytics, speech recognition, time series analysis, natural language processing

Requirements

• Use Xilinx VCK5000
• Use Vitis AI

See other eligible hardware for this category in Submission Requirements.

Resources

• VCK5000 Quick Start Curriculum

Category 3: Big Data Analytics with Xilinx Varium™ C1100 accelerator card

Within the Big Data Analytics framework, this contest exclusively focuses on accelerating blockchain applications including Proof of Work (PoW) algorithms that require high memory bandwidth and transaction validation for permission blockchains such as Hyperledger Fabric.

Blockchains are gaining popularity as the underlying infrastructure for applications we use every day and are predicted to lead us to the next generation of the internet in the not-too-distant future.

Xilinx Varium™ C1100 accelerator cards with 8GB of HBM memory and QSFP28 network ports provide a high-performance, adaptable hardware platform to accelerate a wide range of blockchain applications. Unleashing the power of the latest generation of technology requires the adaptable, high-performance computation capability that FPGAs can provide.

We challenge you to build solutions on Xilinx Varium™ C1100 accelerator cards that make blockchain protocols and infrastructure more efficient and scalable.

Application Examples

• Accelerated Blockchain PoW algorithms, Accelerated transaction validation, Accelerated enterprise blockchain-based applications, Accelerated IPFS based application demonstrating faster sealing and retrieval, Accelerated zkSnark algorithm deployed in a blockchain application, Accelerated blockchain signature verification with elliptical curve digital signature acceleration (ecdsa).

Requirements

• Use a Xilinx Varium™ C1100 accelerator card.
• Use Vitis / Vivado to build a solution focused on blockchain technology. Projects that demonstrate how Xilinx technology can accelerate blockchain technology are strongly encouraged.
• Projects must be based on existing, publicly known blockchain infrastructure (Ethereum, IPFS etc)

Resources

• Big Data Analytics Quick Start Curriculum

Prizes

Edge Computing 1st Place

Awarded to projects that best use Xilinx Kria KV260 Vision AI Starter Kit, along with Vitis / Vitis AI to build edge computing applications.

1 winner

$10,000 Visa Gift Card

Edge Computing 2nd Place

2 winners

$5,000 Visa Gift Card

Edge Computing 3rd Place

3 winners

$3,000 Visa Gift Card

Data Center AI

Awarded to the projects that best use VCK5000 combined with Vitis AI to accelerate AI inference.

1st Place

1 winner

$10,000 Visa Gift Card

2nd Place

1 winner

$5,000 Visa Gift Card

3rd Place

1 winner

$3,000 Visa Gift Card

Big Data Analytics

Awarded to the best solutions on Xilinx Big Data Acceleration This is a card that makes blockchain protocols and infrastructure more efficient and scalable.

1st Place

1 winner

$10,000 Visa Gift Card

2nd Place

1 winner

$5,000 Visa Gift Card

3rd Place

1 winner

$3,000 Visa Gift Card

Women in Technology

1 winner

$2,500 Visa Gift Card

To celebrate Women in Technology, individuals or teams composed by a majority (50% or more) of women are eligible to submit their project for this award in addition to the three regular contest categories.

Xilinx University Program (XUP)

1 winner

$2,500 Visa Gift Card

To foster innovation in adaptive compute acceleration in the academic setting university students are eligible to submit their projects in addition to the three regular contest categories.

Judges

Vamsi Boppana, Senior Vice President, Central Products Group

Leads Central Products Group at Xilinx, a global organization with more than 1,600 silicon, software, and IP engineers to design and support core products for customers. Learn more about Vamsi.

Ivo Bolsens, Chief Technology Officer

Senior vice president and chief technology officer (CTO), with responsibility for advanced technology development, Xilinx research laboratories (XRL) and Xilinx university program (XUP). Learn more about Ivo.

Salil Raje, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Data Center Group

Heads the Data Center Group (DCG) for Xilinx, leading a global team of engineering, sales, and marketing professionals dedicated to the data center – the fastest growing market for FPGAs. Learn more about Salil.

Hanneke Krekels, Corporate Vice President, Core Vertical Markets

Heads Marketing, Business Operations, and Solution Architecture activities for the Core Vertical Markets at AMD. This grouping of markets includes the Automotive, Industrial, Vision, Medical, Aerospace, Defense, Test, Measurement, Emulation, Prototyping, Pro AV, Broadcast, and Consumer markets. She holds an MSc Industrial Design Engineering degree from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She won the Tribute to Women Award from the Silicon Valley YWCA in 2015. Learn more about Hanneke.

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