Via Unveils AI System Powered by Qualcomm®️ Snapdragon 820E

VIA Technologies has unveiled a mini-PC that runs Android 8.0 on a Snapdragon 820E named the VIA ALTA DS 3 Edge AI. The VIA ALTA DS 3 Edge AI operates an Android 8.0 “Oreo” BSP for the Snapdragon 820E, which also powers the Arrow/Qualcomm DragonBoard 820c SBC. The Snapdragon 820E is a close replica, variant of the Snapdragon 820, in league with other embedded Snapdragon variants with 10 years lifespan such as the Snapdragon 600E.

Like the 820, it has four Kryo cores two at 2.35GHz, and two at 1.6GHz plus a 624MHz Adreno 530 GPU, a Hexagon 680 DSP, and a 14-bit Spectra ISP. the Alta DS 3 uses Qualcomm’s Neural Processing SDK for operating various neural network models trained in Caffe/Caffe2, ONNX, or TensorFlow using the CPU, GPU or DSP,” according to VIA.

The VIA ALTA DS 3 provides tightly-integrated system platform that accelerates innovation at the edge for multimedia-rich New Retail applications that boost customer convenience and engagement

says Richard Brown, Vice-President of International Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. This includes applications that combine AI algorithms with “immersive multimedia signage display content.”

Other applications to benefit from this operating system include “facial recognition check-in systems for hotels, train stations, airports, and payment authentication systems for cashierless stores, vending machines, and ticket kiosks.

The mini PC which is 175 x 118 x 25mm in size is equipped with 4GB LPDDR4 in a POP package, as well as 16GB eMMC and an SD slot. There’s also an M.2 slot for 2280 NVMe SSDs. The ALTA DS 3 also has a GbE port, a mini-USB port with “fastboot mode only”, and 3x USB 3.0 ports. Dual 4K display including dual display mirrors and independent video playback are available via the dual HDMI ports, which are described as offering an “integrated HDMI 2.0 transmitter and dual DSI to HDMI 1.4 converters.”

The system comes with a USB-only miniPCIe slot, a SIM card slot, and an antenna mount. Dual audio jacks (WCD9335 codec), a 12V DC jack, a power button with LED, a TPM 1.2 security chip, and a Kensington lock are also available. The 0.61 kg system can be used in temperatures between 0 to 40°C and comes with a vertical stand holder and optional VESA. The VIA ALTA DS 3 is now on sale worldwide. System samples can be ordered online for US$399 plus shipping.

More information can be found on the announcement and product page.

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