The Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) has awarded Frontgrade Gaisler, a leading provider of radiation-hardened microprocessors for space missions, a contract to commercialise the first neuromorphic System on Chip (SoC) device for space applications. The device, which is currently under development at Frontgrade Gaisler, is part of the recently announced GRAIN (Gaisler Research Artificial Intelligence NOEL-V) product line.
The first GRAIN device in the product line is the Gr801 SoC, which integrates Akida™ neuromorphic technology from BrainChip, the first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based, neuromorphic AI.
The GR801 combines Gaisler’s NOEL-V RISC-V processor with the Akida neuromorphic AI processor into a single integrated circuit, facilitating energy-efficient AI applications in space. Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) is contributing to this initiative by designing a demonstration application that utilises a neuromorphic sensor directly connected to Gaisler’s new GR801 device.