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Mitsubishi Electric Develops Compact Hardware AI
for Implementation on Small-scale FPGAs
Improved real-time processing and reduced costs will expand opportunities for AI deployment in home
appliances, elevators, high-precision maps and moreTOKYO, February 14, 2018 – Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today it hasdeveloped a compact hardware artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can be implemented on small-scale
field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that users and designers can configure to develop tailoredapplications. Mitsubishi Electric leveraged its Maisart*-brand AI technology to achieve a solution that uses ahighly efficient calculation order and optimized circuit architecture for improved real-time processing andreduced costs, which is expected to expand the scope of AI deployment in home appliances, elevators, highprecision maps and more.
*Mitsubishi Electric's AI creates the State-of-the-ART in technology

Envisioned applications for Mitsubishi Electric’s Maisart-brand “compact AI” solution

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Key Features
1)

Compact AI enables fast real-time processing in FPGAs- Improved calculation-order efficiency and optimized circuit architecture for FPGA implementation.
- Reduces inference computations to one-tenth** the time of conventional AI and improves real-timeprocessing.
** Compared to Mitsubishi Electric’s existing technology that implements conventional deep learning on FPGAs2)

Compact, small-scale circuit architecture will expand usage of AI in FPGAs- Miniaturized circuit architecture realizes compact AI for implementation in small-scale FPGAs, aswell as embedded CPUs, for reduced costs and energy consumption.
- Small-scale FPGA implementation will broaden scope of AI application in home appliances, elevators,
high-precision maps and other products/fields where AI usage has been limited by high costs.

Details
Compact AI implemented in FPGAs
Deep learning can perform high-level inference, but computational needs can be costly and significant memory
is required because of deep learning’s multilayer network structure. Previously, Mitsubishi Electric developed
compact AI technology, one of the Maisart-brand, featuring extra-efficient network structure and calculation
algorithms, but to implement it as an FPGA solution without sacrificing these features required a more efficient
calculation order. In response, Mitsubishi Electric further improved the technology’s efficiency and optimized
its circuit architecture for implementation in FPGAs. The resulting solution can reduce inferencecomputational time to just one-tenth that of conventional AI.

Expanding the scope of AI applications
Real-time inference can be performed in embedded small-scale FPGAs, as well as embedded CPUs.
Implementation in FPGAs helps to lower the hardware cost when AI is required for real-time processing inapplications such as high-precision mapping. Implementation in FPGAs also can lead to reduced power
consumption due to the miniaturized circuits. For these reasons, compact hardware AI is expected to expand
AI’s application scope to including home appliances, elevators, high-precision maps and more.
Development Summary
AI and on-board devices
ProposedCompact AI on FPGA

Conventional

Conventional AI onFPGA

Processing time on the same
scale FPGAShort(1/10th of conventional time*)

FPGA scale required for thesame level inference
Small(1/10th of conventional time*)

LongLarge

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About Maisart
Maisart encompasses the Mitsubishi Electric’s proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including its
compact AI, automated design deep-learning algorithm and extra-efficient smart-learning AI. Maisart is anabbreviation for “Mitsubishi Electric's AI creates the State-of-the-ART in technology.” Under the corporate
axiom "Original AI technology makes everything smart," the company is leveraging original AI technology
and edge computing to make devices smarter and life more secure, intuitive and convenient.
Patents
Pending patents for the technology announced in this news release number three in Japan and three abroad.

Maisart is a trademark of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.

###About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
With over 90 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation(TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical andelectronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite
communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment.
Embracing the spirit of its corporate statement, Changes for the Better, and its environmental statement, EcoChanges, Mitsubishi Electric endeavors to be a global, leading green company, enriching society withtechnology. The company recorded consolidated group sales of 4,238.6 billion yen (US$ 37.8 billion*) in thefiscal year ended March 31, 2017. For more information visit:
www.MitsubishiElectric.com*At an exchange rate of 112 yen to the US dollar, the rate given by the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on
March 31, 20173/3