Raspberry Pi Targets Edge AI, Partners with Hailo for the Raspberry Pi AI Kit
Bundle combines a Raspberry Pi 5 with M.2 HAT+ with a 13 TOPS Hailo-8L accelerator module.
Raspberry Pi has announced a partnership with on-device machine learning and edge artificial intelligence specialist Hailo to launch a new bundle targeting those looking to experiment with energy-efficient AI: the Raspberry Pi AI Kit.
"Our collaboration with Hailo enables Raspberry Pi's industrial customers to integrate AI into high-performance solutions that are extremely cost-effective and power-efficient," claims Raspberry Pi co-founder and chief executive officer Eben Upton of the partnership. "For enthusiasts, the AI Kit provides an accessible way to enhance their creative projects with AI. Hailo's combination of high compute power and low power consumption make it an incredibly attractive AI solution for professionals and enthusiasts alike."
"We are thrilled to support Raspberry Pi and empower its vibrant community of professional engineers and creative makers with cutting-edge AI capabilities," adds Hailo co-founder and chief executive officer Orr Danon. "Our partnership with the world's leading single-board computer provider will inspire a new era of computing, enhanced by our high-performance AI processing capacity."
The kit pairs the buyer's existing Raspberry Pi 5, the newest and most powerful model in the popular single-board computer family, with a Hailo-8L M.2 accelerator capable of delivering 13 tera-operations per second (TOPS) of minimum-precision compute for machine learning and artificial intelligence workloads. The two devices are mated using the newly-launched Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+, which offers a PCI Express M.2 slot compatible with the accelerator and connects over the Raspberry Pi 5's single externally-accessible PCIe Gen. 2 lane.
The partnership isn't only about a hardware bundle, though: Hailo is also launching a new "online developer community" that is set to include tutorials, collaboration features, and other resources for registered users — as well as the company's existing software suite and model zoo, which includes support for the Raspberry Pi Camera Module family.
"Our new online community will serve as a collaborative environment for AI lovers to share their experiences and discuss new ways to innovate," Danon claims. "We fully expect the introduction of Raspberry Pi's AI-enabled board to set forth a new path for innovation – and we look forward to collaborating with makers to support them as they experiment and leverage Hailo's AI capabilities."
The new Raspberry Pi AI Kit isn't the company's first foray into the world of machine learning. Earlier this year attendees at Embedded World 2024 were treated to a teaser of the Raspberry Pi AI Camera, a Camera Module variant designed around the Sony IMX500 with on-board computer vision accelerator; this followed Sony's April 2023 investment in Raspberry Pi, soon to be a publicly-listed company, and its promise to integrate the AITRIOS edge AI platform into future products.
The Raspberry Pi AI Kit is set to be demonstrated at Embedded World China June 12th-14th at the Raspberry Pi booth, 3A-138, and at Maker Faire Hannover August 17th-18th; the kit, which does not include the Raspberry Pi 5 itself, is now available to order from authorized Raspberry Pi resellers, priced at $70.