Bridging the Gap Between Sensors and AI Compute: Introducing Microchip's PolarFire FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge

Empowering Edge AI with the New PolarFire^® FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge

The world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the edge is expanding at an extraordinary pace, fueled by advancements in sensor technology and AI processing capabilities. Today, we're excited to announce a powerful new addition to this ecosystem: the Microchip PolarFire^® FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge. This innovative solution is designed to accelerate edge AI by seamlessly bridging sensor data to NVIDIA edge computing platforms. It empowers developers across a range of industries to create cutting-edge AI-driven sensor applications—all with the low power, flexibility and reliability that the PolarFire FPGA platform is known for.

Revolutionizing Edge AI Applications

Whether it's a surgical robot navigating through complex anatomy, an autonomous industrial robot making split-second decisions or a high-resolution medical imaging device, edge applications demand fast, secure and accurate sensor data processing. The PolarFire Ethernet Sensor Bridge does exactly that—integrating various sensors into a unified AI processing platform that allows real-time data analysis and actionable insights.

By leveraging our highly power-efficient PolarFire FPGA, the Ethernet Sensor Bridge unlocks new opportunities for AI/ML inferencing and sensor fusion across medical, industrial and autonomous machines applications. It offers a flexible way to connect high-bandwidth sensors to the NVIDIA Jetson™ AGX Orin™ and NVIDIA IGX Orin developer kits via 10G Ethernet, providing a robust, scalable platform for real-time AI applications at the edge.

Seamless Integration with NVIDIA Holoscan

The power of the PolarFire FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge lies in its seamless integration with NVIDIA Holoscan, a sensor processing platform that brings together the necessary hardware and software systems for building AI-driven applications for the edge. It provides optimized libraries, sample AI models, reference applications and core microservices—all of which enable developers to accelerate their projects and streamline the deployment of AI in demanding environments.

The PolarFire Sensor Bridge directly converts sensor data into 10G Ethernet streams, enabling quick and efficient delivery to NVIDIA Holoscan-enabled devices. With dual 10G SFP+ Ethernet ports, data is transferred from sources such as MIPI CSI-2 cameras, CoaXPress* devices or other sensors and processed in real time for instantaneous insights. This plug-and-play compatibility with NVIDIA's platforms makes it easier for developers to take their solutions from concept to deployment.

Flexible, High-Speed Multi-Protocol Support

The versatility of the PolarFire Ethernet Sensor Bridge is evident in its multi-protocol support, enabling compatibility with a diverse range of sensor types and applications. Whether you're interfacing with MIPI CSI-2, SLVS-EC*, SDI*, JESD204B* or CoaXPress* devices, the Sensor Bridge allows developers to adapt to a variety of data sources and formats. This flexibility simplifies the design process, reducing the need for extensive hardware while lowering total system costs.

With high-speed data transfer capabilities through dual 10G Ethernet ports, the Sensor Bridge delivers real-time data communication across long distances, facilitating AI/ML inferencing on NVIDIA's accelerated edge platforms. This enables powerful applications ranging from real-time medical imaging to autonomous machines, transforming how sensor data is gathered, processed and applied.

Designed for Power Efficiency and Reliability

Power efficiency is a hallmark of the PolarFire FPGA platform. The Ethernet Sensor Bridge is optimized for edge applications that are energy- and cost-sensitive, making it ideal for small-footprint systems with demanding AI workloads. Whether it's a smart surgical tool or an industrial automation setup, the PolarFire platform ensures that power consumption stays low while maintaining a high level of performance.

In addition to power efficiency, reliability is a critical component of sensor-based systems, especially in fields such as healthcare, aerospace and industrial automation. The PolarFire FPGA features single event upset (SEU) immunity to prevent data corruption and system failures in radiation-prone environments. This robust design makes the Sensor Bridge suitable for mission-critical and safety-sensitive applications where reliability is paramount.

A Game-Changer for AI at the Edge

With its low power consumption, multi-protocol sensor support and seamless integration with NVIDIA Holoscan, the PolarFire FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge is a groundbreaking solution for developers building real-time, AI-driven sensor processing systems. By bridging sensor data to NVIDIA's powerful edge AI platforms, Microchip's PolarFire Sensor Bridge empowers designers to innovate faster and tackle new challenges in medical imaging, industrial automation and autonomous systems.

Whether you're working on a next-generation surgical navigation tool, autonomous robots or medical systems, optimizing factory automation or pushing the boundaries of AI in autonomous systems, the PolarFire FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge can help make your vision a reality.

Visit the product web page to learn more about how the PolarFire FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge can accelerate your edge AI projects or purchase at www.microchipDIRECT.com.

*Note: The PolarFire FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge is available today with a MIPI CSI-2 interface. Other protocols, including SLVS-EC*, SDI*, JESD204B* or CoaXPress* will be supported in the future.