ARM mbed opens the Internet of Things "the tip of the iceberg", releasing unlimited potential

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Recently, the hottest word in China must be “APEC”. Apart from “APEC Blue”, it is worth remembering. The “interconnection” mentioned by President Xi Jinping during APEC is also worthy of attention by all relevant companies in the Internet of Things. At the recent technical forum held by ARM, ARM's action in the Internet of Things has once again become the focus of the industry, because what ARM wants to do is not simply to replicate the success of the ARM core in the software field, but to use the "leverage principle" to open up " The tip of the iceberg, releasing the Internet of Things market with infinite potential.

Figure 1 2014 ARM Technology Forum site

Open the "tip of the iceberg"

Now companies are still "OUT" when they are alone, they are all squeezing into various ecosystems. In fact, the business ecosystem is constantly evolving, from centralized ecosystems to open-source ecosystems to community-based ecosystems. The advantages of a community-based ecosystem are self-control, openness, and subversion. However, what is the most complete IoT ecosystem we are seeing now? Dr. John Heinlein, vice president of global marketing at ARM, said: "In fact, what we have seen and heard is the so-called intelligence, the Internet of Things is actually just the tip of the iceberg. There are more grand and complex ecosystems under the icebergs. The same is true for technology. Unable to see, there will be many companies that seem to be 'eight can't beat', such as Alibaba. In short, everything is not as simple as you think. After going deep into the Internet of Things, you will find it really complicated, diverse Internet of Things. Will lead new growth."

Taking shared photos as an example, this is a very common thing for the average consumer: photography - upload to social media - friends watch, but it is not so simple, it involves mobile phone - data transmission - signal processing - base station - RF - Computing - Storage - Mobile, each of which may be driven by ARM technology. ARM partners innovate at every level, from chip design and manufacturing to software, tools, middleware and more. ARM is confident that it can open the "tip of the iceberg". In addition to its own technological advantages, ARM can use the powerful ecosystem as a "bar" to easily explore the resources under the "iceberg".

Just works

Now the home network seems to require better personal IT skills. If I am a child or an old person, can't I enjoy the home network? Smart homes should be easier to operate, and only simpler, the market can grow faster. Dr. Heinlein quoted Douglas Adam's famous "Galaxy Roaming Guide" as saying "we are often dragged down by technology. What we really want is just something that can work." He thinks ARM and other technology companies are not Just release some technology, but provide something that can be used (Delivering something just works). The latest release of the ARM Mali Multimedia IP Suite shows this and is easy to use.

Of course, the simplicity of the surface means increased complexity, and the three points of chip design, board design, and software make it possible to add complexity. For example, EDA tools facilitate chip design, from manual layout to early CAD, to the current integration of hardware and software design, enabling integration acceleration. Dr. Heinlein said: "ARM and TSMC will work together on the 10 nm FinFET process 64-bit ARM architecture processor. From 0.25 um to 10 nm is not a simple process advancement, but all the technologies hidden in the depths make it successful, including Logic, analog, embedded flash, RF, image sensors, high voltage, MEMS and power ICs.

ARM mbed solves the lack of resources in the Internet of Things era

Dr. Heinlein went on to say: “Improvement enables more complex systems to be realized, and new solutions will be created, including new consumers, new applications, and new components. Nothing can be accumulated without a thousand miles. No data is available. The accumulation of small data makes big data possible. ARM mbed OS connects to mbed device servers (cross-standard) through open standards, and then to IoT services or applications, which makes small data end-to-end secure. The network data objects and management eventually form big data."

Dr. Heinlein also talked about the challenges of next-generation infrastructure, including managing data requirements, energy constraints, deploying bandwidth, and increasing density, which foster new business models. At least 90% of the current IoT ecosystems are invisible, they may have magical powers (such as the emerging creators), and we should bring them into the visible market.

Michael Horne, vice president of business strategy and operations at ARM's IoT division, said: "In the 20th century, processors were scarce resources, and in the Internet of Things era, there was a lack of resources, namely energy and productivity, to find a way to get to market quickly. Resolving current technology needs requires smarter, scalable, and system-driven. It should change the market through investment in standards, simplify innovation through management complexity, and provide products that are robust, scalable, and secure. ARM Committed to providing connectivity, security and simple IoT products. The ARM mbed IoT Device Platform includes mbed OS, mbed device server and mbed ecosystem, which make ARM mbed productive, secure, connected, Management and efficiency 5 advantages."

The mbed OS is a free operating system designed for Cortex-M based hardware, including security, communication transport and device management. The advantages of mbed OS are: fastest time to market, low power design, complete security solution, highest connectivity standards, and internal device management.

Advantages of mbed device servers: direct integration, regular connection support, overall security management, leading open source standards, and lightweight management.

The mbed ecosystem partners include cloud partners, system and channel partners, and chip partners. These different areas of partners share vision and open standards through the mbed IoT device platform, enabling commercial deployment of IoT devices and services.

In the end, you can use the mbed+ARM chip +sensinode to design the IoT applications, and you can share some security, connectivity, and driver resources, such as smart cities and smart homes, through the mbed OS.

The temptation of “Double Eleven”

Mr. Pan Aimin, Chief Architect of Alibaba Alibaba Yunu, gave a keynote speech at the ARM Technology Forum on the development, opportunities and challenges of the mobile operating system in the Chinese market. He first reported on the fiery Alibaba "Double Eleven" battle: the transaction volume exceeded 57.1 billion yuan, and 40% of the transactions were transferred to the mobile platform. This is definitely a meaningful data for the Chinese mobile market, because they are directly linked to the economy, and they are not responsible for Alibaba's past efforts on the mobile platform. Mr. Pan Aimin believes that mobile OS is becoming a focus of the Chinese government and industry (from PC-Mobile-Mobile OS). China's entire industrial chain is complete. From mobile chip companies, semiconductor devices, market capacity to system talents, the iterative rhythm of the entire industry chain has also kept pace with international standards. With the rapid development of the mobile Internet, combined with cloud computing and the Internet of Things, plus the lessons of the Chinese PC era operating system, and the openness of hardware from companies such as ARM, China Mobile OS can have a place in the future. YunOS will leverage the concept of “cloud”, including cloud services and payment support, as well as the mobile Internet ecosystem (ARM, chip vendors, terminal manufacturers, design companies, etc.) to win more markets with APP mode + service model + user experience.

Accelerate the pace of mobile innovation

More connectivity is driving a huge shift, said Dennis Laudick, vice president of marketing for the ARM Multimedia Processors division: "IoT will change all aspects of society, and with the rapid proliferation of consumer electronics-related technologies, smartphones have become The rapid evolution of major computing devices, infrastructure and servers, the birth of the first ARM-based server, is expected to have an average of 50 interconnected devices per household by 2020... companies including ARM More products will be released to support the pace of mobile innovation, which offers greater capabilities, higher performance, lower power consumption, tools, software and reduced development time."

ARM envisions that Cortex and mbed technology can truly achieve the connection of objects in the future. Of course, it is impossible to accomplish such complicated work by itself. Dennis said: "The unique advantages of our partners can make every link of the entire ecosystem. Faster differentiation, including SoCs, hardware and interfaces, operating systems, middleware, applications. ARM provides a common foundation for the entire ecosystem, namely system architecture, software and proven IP.” For example, ARM for 64-bit Android's Juno reference development platform, which integrates many of ARM's advanced technologies (including the ARMv8 instruction set), and is fully integrated into a single board. The product supports the big.LITTLE asynchronous architecture with two Cortex-A57s, four Cortex-A53s, and the latest Mali T-624 core. As another example, ARM adds IPA intelligent power distribution to the Linux kernel (including Android).

Mali shows what you want

Images and videos are the "souls" of many applications in the Internet of Things. According to statistics, 90% of device content revenue comes from games, and games are more and more complex; 53% of mobile data is video; 73% of mobile devices have HD or higher resolution. With the increase of display complexity and resolution, the new multimedia IP is imperative for the pursuit of high energy efficiency, high performance, low power consumption and fast time to market. ARM's new integrated ARM Mali multimedia IP suite (including the Mali-V550 video accelerator, Mali-DP550 display processor and Mali-T800 graphics processor series) can efficiently provide rich visual content and display with leading processors. Support the real world. Dennis said: "Last year, Mali had 400 million shipments, and more and more mobile devices of all grades are using Mali. The new Mali multimedia IP suite enables ARM partners to develop diverse multimedia systems. Chip-on-a-chip (SoC), get to market faster, profit from system bandwidth efficiency, seamlessly integrate software, focus on differentiation, and reduce risk."

ARM provides multimedia IP in a system-level manner, enabling chip partners to achieve energy savings through system-wide bandwidth-saving technologies such as ARM Frame Buffer Compression (AFBC) and Fully Adaptive Texture Compression (ASTC). At the same time, technologies including Smart Elimination (TE) and Smart Synthesis (SC) are also adopted by all Mali IP blocks, avoiding duplication of work and ensuring better energy-saving features. In addition, the Mali-V550 and Mali-DP550 also benefit from Motion Search Elimination (MSE), which reduces bandwidth by up to 35%.

The next-generation Mali graphics processor supports mobile diversity, achieving the perfect balance of performance and efficiency, supporting 4K and 10-bit YUV, resulting in 55% better 3D gaming performance and 60% bandwidth savings. The Mali-T820 graphics processor is optimized for entry-level products. Its performance density is up to 40% compared to the Mali-T622; the Mali-T830 is 55% better than the Mali-T622; the Mali-T860 is more power efficient than the Mali-T628. Boosting 45%, it meets the most demanding consumer needs and delivers the ultimate visual experience on high-performance mobile devices. The Mali-V550 is ARM's first video IP with multi-standard codec. Its multi-standard codec includes HEVC (H.265) capable of encoding and decoding in a single core; its single core can be resolved up to 1080p. The rate is 60 frames/s; the 8 cores can support resolutions up to 4k 120 frames. The Mali-DP550 supports up to 7 layers of image compositing optimized for image rendering, enabling users to implement more dynamic, lifelike user interfaces; it can share tasks for existing graphics processors, compositing, scaling, rotating and post-processing images Tasks are transferred to dedicated processors to provide enhanced functionality.

Dennis added: "Mali also embodies the concept of 'Just works', which customers can use immediately, without being tied to deep technical difficulties. The future should be the most suitable SoC for each application, new The Mali Multimedia IP Suite represents ARM's expansion in distributed processing, ensuring that vision-centric content runs on the most appropriate processor. Of course, ARM cannot be done on its own, requiring partners in the ecosystem to do it together. ."

Since 1991, the history of ARM processors has exceeded 50 billion, and it is now working toward 100 billion. When is it? I believe that it will not be too long, and new opportunities from medical, education, smart homes, automobiles and other fields and under the “iceberg” will contribute to 100 billion ARM chips.

Postscript: During the lunch break, the reporter heard the dialogue between the two engineers. The key word is “too horrible.” ARM’s ambition has really shocked the engineers in the industry, and hopes that it can open its own strengths and leverage the capabilities of its partners. Unpredictable "iceberg". Welcome to read the reporter's July narration "The Internet of Things carries the ambition of ARM unified hardware and software"

Figure 2 ARM Mali video display demo

Figure 3 ARM Mali video display demo

Figure 4 Various ARM-driven smart devices

Figure 5 ARM Cortex-M0 energy saving solution