In this year's China International Expo without "Hai Dayu", the domestic chip heat is unabated, and the audience is squeezed!
AI Security Expo Domestic Chips
Affected by the epidemic, the 2021 China Security Expo, after changing the opening time several times, finally opened on the 26th. Also affected by the epidemic, Haikang, Dahua, Univision, and Huawei did not participate in the show this year. However, this does not seem to affect the enthusiasm of exhibitors. An exhibitor told me that it is understandable why some major manufacturers have not come to the exhibition in the end, but this year security chip manufacturers, integrators, etc. are actively participating in the exhibition and are still very optimistic about the security industry.

Indeed, as far as security chips are concerned, almost all mainstream suppliers have come. Everyone knows that because of the shortage of HiSilicon’s supply in the security chip market, many domestic chip manufacturers have emerged to replace this huge market share. In my previous article, "Security Chip Prices Increased by 50%, HiSilicon’s Retirement Manufacturers squeeze into the track! "Have reported on such market conditions. So, what are the new changes in this market recently?
HiSilicon
Shanghai HiSilicon displayed Yueying AI ISP, a new generation of intelligent image processing engine for IoT smart terminals. HiSilicon Yueying is a new generation of ISP that introduces AI, which realizes the deep integration of image quality technology and AI technology. One of the key capabilities of Yueying is super-sensitivity and noise reduction. It uses neural network deep learning to achieve intelligent noise reduction and image quality in low-light scenes. The clarity is industry-leading. Multi-spectral fusion technology is also used to effectively fuse visible light and infrared spectra, so that low-light images can achieve a balance of color and detail, and reshape the colorful visual world.

HiSilicon’s intelligent analysis engine is composed of NPU (Neural Network Processing Unit) and VPU (Vision Processing Unit). The two are deeply integrated and have complementary advantages to efficiently enable end-to-end AI solutions.

However, this time, HiSilicon’s exhibits are not too many, nor did it show too much of its smart video product line, only showing some new products. Of course, you can still see its technical strength in image processing and AI performance.
Novatek
The shipment of Taiwan Novatek in the security chip market is also very impressive, and it is the main supplier to replace HiSilicon in the professional security field. Its product line has formed a wide coverage in the mainstream mid-to-low-end market, with NT98562 and NT98566 as its main products. In addition, according to the plan, Novatek will launch NT98530 in Q1 of 2022, which supports 4K 60-frame video codec. It should be the benchmark for HiSilicon 3519. Next year, it will launch an NT98690 that supports 8K 30-frame video codec. It should be right. Standard HiSilicon 3559. Since the chip has not been officially released, no specific parameters have been displayed on site. However, Novatek's shipments and position in the security chip market should be worth looking forward to.

Rockchip
Rockchip demonstrated many solutions from front-end to back-end security, vehicle-mounted, and machine vision. The most eye-catching is the latest generation of flagship chip RK3588 on display. This is an IPC SoC used in the high-end security field.

RK3588 is equipped with a quad-core A76 + quad-core A55 eight-core CPU and ARM G610MP4 GPU, and a built-in NPU with 6 TOPs of computing power. Supports rich display interfaces, up to 8K display processing capabilities; strong scalability, supports high-speed interfaces such as PCIE3.0, SATA3.0, dual TypeC/USB3.1, etc., can be used for AI computing power, image data processing and other expansions. It has the characteristics of high computing power, super multimedia, and rich data interface. It is understood that the RK3588 chip is also a product against the HiSilicon Hi3559.

Rockchip did not choose to go straight to the low-end in the security market. Instead, it first focused on the mid- and high-end. For example, the previous RK1126 has been used in surveillance cameras of some brands. And RK3588 is expected to achieve mass production early next year.

The current high-end security market pays more attention to fully structured design, that is, a camera can support the capture and data processing of faces, motor vehicles, and non-motor vehicles at the same time, which solves the problem that in the past an AI camera could not simultaneously control people and vehicles . RK3588 can realize 6-mesh 400W panoramic stitching processing. For example, in high-altitude parabolic scenes, multiple sensor inputs can be supported, so that objects and positions can be recorded and judged more clearly and accurately.

Sigmastar
Xiamen Xingchen Technology Sigmastar is a very fast-growing chip company in recent years. Its smart security front-end chip series are relatively complete, and the product coverage is wide, from 2-3M to 4-5M, and then to 4K or even 4K+. The SSC337/337DE, which supports 5M pixels, has a good market performance. In addition, compared with the former, SSC30KD/Q has an intelligent processor, powerful computing power, and a higher cost performance. In the future, high-end products or lightweight products of the SSC37X series will also be launched.

Yizhi Electronics

Zhuhai Yizhi Electronics focuses on SV823 and SV826 chips in the security field. SV823/SV826 is a new generation of high-performance end-side AI chip released by Yizhi Electronics for video codec AI camera applications. Relying on high computing power NPU, high-performance image processing ISP and coding and decoding capabilities, it can realize 4K ultra-high-definition video recording and video-level intelligence, which is applied to face recognition, human form tracking, license plate recognition, vehicle detection and other targets, and the video is structured , And application scenarios such as intelligent behavior analysis.

According to reports, Yizhi Electronics' NPU self-developed capability is strong, and the image processing ISP is also quite capable. The video displayed on site will be brighter and clearer than the configuration of the same level. Its main chip has achieved good results in the operator market. In addition to the security field, Yizhi Electronics also has applications for smart hardware such as reading pens, and automotive images such as driving recorders and fatigue driving monitoring.
Crystal Vision
Jingshi Intelligent is a chip design company focusing on video surveillance and edge computing technology, and has received investments from Xiaomi Yangtze River Industries and Bitmain. It has leading AI TPU computing core and SoC integration technology. Crystal Vision has a lot of shipments in the security field. CV1821 and CV1825 are its main products, single-core CPU, TPU 0.5TOPS computing power, support 2 sensor input, ISP support 5M@30 frame video, H.264 Codec/ H.265 Encode encoding and decoding, can be used for humanoid detection, motion detection, area intrusion, etc. It can also be used in smart terminals such as smart point-reading pens. In addition, CV1835 is also launched, which supports 1.5TOPS computing power for binocular face recognition access control. According to reports, Crystal Vision will launch a processor based on the RISC-V architecture next year. At the same time, its products also pay more attention to the direction of light weight, because compared with the high-end video surveillance market, the light and intelligent market space is larger, and it will also be Many opportunities for IPC SoC vendors.

Fullhan
Fullhan Micro has brought a rich product line of security chips, including 4M-8M digital security smart solutions, covering chips such as FH8652/56/58. Supports intelligent functions such as professional humanoid and car shape detection.

Coolcore
At the exhibition site, we also saw the AR93 AI IPC security monitoring product displayed by Coolcore Micro, a 4-core ARM Cortex-A53, 9 million pixel self-developed high-performance ISP, self-developed 4T computing power NPU, support for multiple sensor access, 9M @60fps encoding and decoding, and single-core CEVA XM6 high-performance DSP, etc., are used in smart security and other fields.

Other cutting-edge technology products
In addition to the displays of security chip manufacturers, there are many interesting displays this year. For example, the mechanical dog of Yushu Technology has not only been on the Spring Festival Gala and wandered through major science and technology exhibitions, but also came to the China Security Expo today. This police security mechanical dog can be equipped with warning lights, digital broadcasting and high-power searchlights on its back. It can be used for investigation and evidence collection, urban management inspections, public security patrols, public security maintenance, etc. During the epidemic, police mechanical dogs can preach epidemic prevention knowledge and remind epidemic prevention matters in public. According to on-site personnel, this mechanical dog has already received orders and is currently in use.

Picture: The police security mechanical dog displayed by Yushu Technology

Moqi Technology showcased the “Moqi M1 Smart Passport All-in-one Machine” and “MQ-E2 Non-contact Four-finger Smart Authentication Device” that use palm vein recognition, and provide support for non-contact fingerprints, palm prints, and palm fingerprints on large libraries. Accurate authentication and identification capabilities of multi-modal biometrics such as veins, as well as live detection functions, help companies provide users with accurate, reliable, safe, convenient, and privacy-protected intelligent identity verification and identification services. According to on-site personnel, this type of product can be used in, for example, hotel scenes to replace hotel door cards. Users only need to use palm veins to open the door and consume billing functions. This saves the trouble of carrying the door card and can easily consume. , So the hotel can also provide guests with more portable services.

Picture: "Moqi M1 Smart Traveling All-in-one Machine" with palm vein recognition

Picture: Geling Shentong showcases smart transportation and smart community solutions

Picture: Megvii shows its AI-enabled product ecology