Case Studies

Case Study: Making Sure Tools for Deep Learning are User-friendly and Robust

 “…software is changing at head-spinning rates, driven by advances in how computers process giant amounts of data using artificial-intelligence techniques,” said the Wall Street Journal in a recent article, highlighting the challenge faced by smartphone software developers. We agree, and it’s not just in smartphones.  BDTI is seeing this trend across a wide range of applications. Visual intelligence, supported by sophisticated hardware and sensors, and delivered to users through increasingly Read more...

Case Study: Balancing the Demands of Algorithms and the Capabilities of Processors When Designing Computer Vision Systems

There is now little question that deep learning is an effective means for a wide range of detection and recognition applications. It is increasingly used in computer vision, where it has vastly improved accuracy rates for object recognition. In some cases, the effectiveness of deep learning has also resulted in unrealistic—or, as-yet unrealizable—expectations. For example, one customer came to BDTI with a long list of detection and recognition functions that it wanted implemented on a low-cost Read more...

Case Study: Careful Analysis Leads to Successful Products

Processor vendors and system designers share a common concern: how to make sure their products meet customer needs. For processor vendors, a key challenge is to design architectures with enough performance to meet the demands of current and anticipated applications while staying within acceptable power and cost constraints, and enabling good software developer productivity. Fundamentally, processor designers need to bring together the demands of algorithm workloads together with the Read more...

Case Study: Good Decisions Require Good Information

The world of high tech abounds with cautionary tales of decisions based on inadequate information. With 20/20 hindsight, it's easy to see where wrong decisions were made, but when you're in the thick of it, you often fail to see the forest for the trees. Careful technology decision-makers have long relied on BDTI to provide them with the key insights they need to make tough decisions. In addition to benchmarks and in-depth technical analysis, BDTI has been tracking and analyzing business, Read more...

Case Study: How to Implement Deep Learning for Vision on Embedded Processors

We're hearing more and more about the effectiveness of deep learning for a growing range of applications. With the surge in the volume of data available for training, and reduction in the cost of computing, technologists have turned to deep neural networks for solutions to compute-intensive applications such as speech and image recognition, 3D object recognition, and natural language processing. Particularly where the virtually unlimited processing power and memory of cloud and enterprise Read more...

Case Study: How to Build Customer Confidence in a New Product

You know you’ve got a compelling story for your new product: it’s got unique features, addresses the requirements of multiple applications, and is supported by a full ecosystem. Now, how do you convince customers of its benefits and value? Earning customer confidence and trust is challenging for both small and large companies and can pose a particular challenge when your new product breaks the mold. An effective way for technology providers to gain the trust of customers is through validation Read more...

Case Study: Growing Your Business by Targeting New Markets

One key challenge for a technology company is identifying markets for its products. Let’s say you have an idea for entering a new market using your existing technology. How do you know if there’s a fit? How do you realistically assess your risk? With more than 25 years of experience evaluating embedded processing technology, BDTI often helps clients assess and improve technology-market fit to define new products and find new markets.  BDTI understands the market trends and competitive dynamics Read more...

Case Study: BDTI Expertise Enables Selection of the Best Processor for Vision Applications

With more and more products incorporating computer vision functionality, semiconductor vendors are increasingly designing specialized processors for vision applications. For product developers, this means that identifying the best processor (whether a chip for use in a system design, or an IP core for use in an SoC) is challenging—for several reasons. First, processors for vision vary greatly in their architectures, making them tough to compare. Second, there is no universal set of benchmarks Read more...

Case Study: From Platform Selection to Optimized Application: Vision System Design Success

As computer vision is deployed into a variety of new applications, driven by the emergence of powerful, low-cost, and energy-efficient processors, companies need to find ways to squeeze demanding vision processing algorithms into size-, weight-, power, and cost-constrained systems. Fortunately for its clients, BDTI's skill in benchmarking has armed it with unique skill in optimizing software to best exploit processor capabilities. It's also provided BDTI with an in-depth understanding of the Read more...

Case Study: Choosing the Right Benchmarks for the Job

As embedded processors and applications become increasingly complex, good benchmarks are more important than ever. System designers need good benchmarks to judge whether a processor will meet the needs of their applications, and to make accurate comparisons among processors. Processor developers need good benchmarks to assess how their processors stack up against the competition, and to prove their processors' capabilities to customers. But what exactly comprises a good benchmark? One obvious Read more...