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Synaptics Plots Plan for AI PC ‘Edge’

Synaptics wants to “infuse AI” into everything it does: smart homes, smartphones, smart factories or AI PCs. 
Edge AI Comes to PCs

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By Junko Yoshida

AI’s infiltration of the PC is a fait accompli.

But how will AI affect everyday PC users?

Satish Ganesan, chief strategy officer and senior vice president of Synaptics’ Intelligent Sensing Division tells us, “There are two revolutions going on.”

First comes the “AI PC” revolution. PC vendors are asking how much moreTOPS they can add to a main processor, and if they can run Copilot+ on PCs.

On the other hand, there is “Edge AI in a PC.” Ganesan noted, “At Synaptics, we are thinking if we can apply AI to the PC’s human-machine interface to improve consumers’ user experience.”

The two revolutions aren’t mutually exclusive.

The Ojo-Yoshida Report sits down with Synaptics’ Ganesan and asks what Synaptics means by bringing “Edge AI” to PCs. The broadcast event is scheduled at 9:00AM PT, July 30, 2024.

Infuse AI in everything
By bringing “Edge AI” to PCs, Synaptics is confident that users will enjoy additional useful features such as Human Presence Detection, head-pose tracking and gesture control which enable automatic adjustments such as waking and locking the computer, and managing battery and privacy settings.

Ganesan explained, “Our strategy is to infuse AI in everything we do. It’s not just AI as a product line, but AI will enhance the usability from a consumer perspective.”

Copilot+ tends to be an in-your-face sort of AI.

Edge AI in a PC is sufficiently subtle, Ganesan noted, “You actually make things better, and consumers don’t even know AI is happening in the background.” Synaptics’ goal is to provide PC users with “magic” features that are stealthy but useful.

Synaptics’ “Edge AI in a PC” scheme extends from a shrewd but very smart business strategy.

First, it will facilitate Synaptics’ Astra family of AI processors — launched earlier this year for the IoT market. These processors, designed for embedded IoT devices requiring computer vision, voice, or any form of edge AI, can be applied to PCs.

Second, the strategy plays into the company’s three technological pillars: sensing, processing, and connecting. Synaptics’s past shopping spree for specialized IP in the IoT market initially made us wonder if it was choosing acquisition targets wisely. Now, “Edge AI in a PC” illustrates one more example of Synaptics systematically marshaling its key technologies to go after a market segment barely touched by competitors.

Third, as leading PC suppliers all roll out Copilot+ PCs based on the same OS running the same ChatGPT, there is this nagging question. Wouldn’t all PCs end up pretty much the same? Synaptics is pitching “Edge AI in a PC” as a way for PC vendors to customize user interfaces. At Computex in Taiwan this June, Synaptics seized the opportunity to strut its stuff for a host of  PC OEMs.

Fourth, in contrast to “AI PC” built on a TOPS race via central processing engines, “Edge AI in a PC” follows a distributed processing model. Small, embedded AI processors enable “Edge AI” on a PC consuming very little power, according to Synaptics.

In short, Synaptics’ mission is “distributed AI processing for PC’s UI.”

Fifth, beyond a plethora of AI-enabled UIs, “Edge AI in a PC” enables added security to UIs at the edge. Any multi-factor authentication — as simple as a user’s hands, fingers or usage patterns — can be done “outside the operating system,” said Ganesan. “Even when your PC is off, or your OS hasn’t kicked in, Edge AI-enabled touch pad, low-power vision camera, or fingerprint sensor can say that it is not your finger, your hand, or you who is using your computer.”

Ganesan predicts that security will become more prominent in the era of AI PCs.

In our TechVision discussion, Ganesan shares his vision of Edge AI heralding new UI dimensions for a new generation of AI PC users.

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Junko Yoshida is the editor in chief of The Ojo-Yoshida Report. She can be reached at [email protected].

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