FPGA kit simplifies development for AI and image processing applications

Mouser now stocks the Hello FPGA Kit from Microchip. The kit is an entry-level platform produced for end-users with low to medium experience with FPGAs. The kit supports AI and digital signal processing prototypes and incorporates a power monitor GUI that enables developers to measure FPGA core power consumption whilst running designs. The kit is ideal for the development of a wide variety of solutions, including communications, aviation, industrial, medical, and defence applications.

The kit comprises the FPGA mainboard, a camera sensor board, LCD board, and needed USB cable. The FPGA mainboard is based on the SmartFusion2 SoC FPGA. The low-power SmartFusion2 device combines FPGA fabric with a 166MHz Arm Cortex-M3 microcontroller subsystem that includes 256KB of embedded flash, extensive peripherals, instruction cache, and Embedded Trace Macrocell.

The FPGA mainboard also incorporates a Microchip PIC32MX7 microcontroller — which controls the SmartFusion2 SoC, monitors power, and more — as well as Arduino and Mikroe mikroBUS connectors to provide flexibility for prototyping and expansion. The kit can operate as a standalone unit as well as an extension to current Microchip kits over the PICkit Header.