Future Is Here: Edge AI
This week we saw a big announcement that gets us further on our hybrid cloud journey—one where cloud strategies will also include edge and hybrid investments and companies can extend compute and AI (artificial intelligence) to the edge of the network.
Microsoft introduces Azure Percept at its Ignite digital conference this week, which is a platform with added security for creating Azure AI technologies and solutions on the edge. The end-to-end edge AI platform includes hardware accelerators integrated with Azure AI and IoT (Internet of Things) services and pre-built AI models—for vision capabilities including object detection, shelf analytics, vehicle analytics, and audio capabilities like voice control and anomaly detection—and solution management to help go from prototype to production in minutes. This is big news especially as companies and partners look to digital transformation with great fervor.
The goal of the Azure Percept platform is to simplify the process of developing, training, and deploying edge AI solutions, making it easier for more customers to take advantage of these kinds of offerings, according to Moe Tanabian, Microsoft vice president and GM of the Azure edge and devices group.
Sam George, corporate vice president of Azure IoT, Microsoft, even posted a comment saying, “With this comprehensive and easy-to-use platform, you can create edge AI solutions for tackling use cases like object detection, shelf analytics, or anomaly detection. Azure Percept includes hardware accelerators that integrate seamlessly with Azure AI and IoT services, as well as a library of pre-built AI models to get you started prototyping in minutes. Azure Percept helps safeguards your sensitive data and high-value models.â€
George also points to other big news coming out of Ignite: the preview of Device Update for IoT Hub, which makes capabilities available from Windows Update to any IoT device, regardless of the operating system.
We know today companies need computing that can help support the vast amount of data—and they need the flexibility to do this anywhere, anyplace. The hybrid cloud environment enables remote work while still being able to capitalize on cloud innovation—all while maximizing existing on-premise investments. Azure provides a holistic and secure approach to innovate anywhere across on-premises, multicloud, and edge environments. Now, with Azure Percept, it has simplified AI on the edge.
When it comes to security, Azure Percept hardware accelerators are designed with a hardware root of trust, which interacts with a device TPM (trusted platform module) and attestation service to prove device identity and help ensure additional device security. Azure Percept also uses the Zero Trust security model. Microsoft has also designed Azure Percept in accordance with Microsoft responsible AI principles, which helps ensure all of the services are streamlined to create edge AI solutions that can adapt to customers’ needs, while ensuring customers’ trust as the edge continues to evolve.