One Year Later, Renesas Details the Status of Its Reality AI Acquisition

From edge AI/TinyML to high-performance computing (HPC), the machine-learning industry has paved the way for new startups to emerge. 

One year ago, Renesas announced the acquisition of TinyML startup Reality AI in an all-cash deal. Now, one year after this acquisition, Renesas has taken to the news again to share what they’ve been up to since merging its talent with those at Reality AI.

 

Renesas' acquisition of Reaity AI was geared to enhance Renesas' endpoint AI capability and help system designers get products to market faster. Image used courtesy of Renesas

 

Renesas Acquires Reality AI

Before Renesas acquired it, Reality AI was best known for its wide range of embedded AI and TinyML solutions. Specifically, the company focused on designing products for automotive, industrial, and commercial applications. Reality AI created a software environment called Reality AI Tools that supported the full lifecycle development of TinyML solutions.

Renesas sought to integrate this TinyML expertise into its line of MCUs and MPUs and agreed to acquire Reality AI in an all-cash deal. At the time, Renesas’ goal was to expand its embedded AI technologies through the acquisition of new IP and expertise, with the ultimate goal of combining Reality AI’s tools with its own products.

 

One Year Later

Now, one year after the acquisition was announced, Renesas has recapped what they’ve accomplished in a year's time. These developments include:

• The integration of Reality AI tools into products: Reality AI Tools have been tightly integrated with Renesas compute products and currently have native support for all of Renesas’ MCUs and MPUs.
• RealityCheck Motor Toolbox: In conjunction with Reality AI, Renesas has released RealityCheck Motor Toolbox, a machine learning software toolbox for motor control. The tool uses electrical feedback to perform predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and smart control without the need for additional sensors. Renesas now states that RealityCheck Motor Toolbox works with all of its MCUs, MPUs, and motor control kits, making ML-powered motor control easily attainable for its customers.
• RealityCheck HVAC Solution Suite: For designers of solutions in the HVAC industry, Renesas has developed the RealityCheck HVAC Solution Suite. This tool is a comprehensive framework consisting of reference designs for both hardware and firmware. Additionally, the framework includes a set of pre-trained ML models that includes support for model training and customization.
• Automotive SWS Solution Suite: In the automotive industry, Renesas combined expertise with Reality AI to develop its Automotive SWS (sound recognition) Solution Suite. A suite of products combining both hardware and software, the SWS Suite aims to increase vehicle passenger safety. The toolset comes with MCUs designed for automotive AI, a variety of automotive-facing AI models for object detection, and a MEMS microphone array for listening to the environment.

 

Renesas’ Automotive SWS in use. Image courtesy of Renesas

 

The company has been showcasing these products at the Sensor’s Converge tradeshow this week in California.