Think Silicon S.A. (TSi) has become one of the only six companies in the world that have a proven capacity to develop Graphics IP technology. This technology is essential for fulfilling the ever increasing demand for wearable and IoT devices. Dealing with the levels of power consumption required by those devices represents a major challenge and TSi has demonstrated and patented novel multi-disciplinary approaches spanning circuits, architecture, compiler and API level optimization techniques. This proposal is about bringing the world’s first ultra-low power optimized heterogeneous multicore embedded graphics processing unit (GPU), low-power software library and associated run-time system to TRL9. The technical advances are to be complemented by a comprehensive innovation management strategy covering IPR protection, commercial exploitation and alliance formation. Central to supporting uptake is the release of platform and tools to the Open Developer Community, in line with best practices in the sector. Support by the SME Instrument would enable TSi to accelerate the disruption of the global market for GPUs through faster and properly executed market introduction. Key benefits to Europe include amplified export revenue (TSi has offices in Silicon Valley and Canada as well as sales representation in Asia), increased employment along with encouragement of private investment in a region significantly affected by the economic crisis (Greece), but most importantly solidifying expertise and IPR in a strategic ICT sector that underpins multiple industries including healthcare, fitness/wellness, infotainment and manufacturing. The IoT market outlook is experiencing high growth with revenues of $32.2B in 2019 with a CAGR of 20% and low power technologies become the key factor being successful in this market. Recently formed business partnerships with major semiconductor companies reinforce the value of TSi’s offering and its potential in the ultra-low power GPU market.

Low-power GPUs have become ubiquitous, they can be found in domains ranging from wearable and mobile computing, to automotive systems. With this ubiquity has come a wider range of applications exploiting low-power GPUs, placing ever increasing demands on the expected performance and power efficiency of the devices. Future low-power system-on-chips will have to provide higher performance and be able to support more complex applications, without using any additional power. The strict power limitations means that these demands cannot be met through hardware improvements alone, however, but the software must better exploit the available resources. Unfortunately, programmers are hindered when creating low-power GPU software by the quality of current performance analysis tools. In low-power GPU contexts there is only a minimal amount of performance information, and essentially no power information, available to the programmer. As software becomes more complex it becomes increasingly unmanageable for programmers to optimise the software for low-power devices. This project proposes to aid the programmer in creating software for low-power GPUs by building on the results of the first LPGPU project to provide a complete performance analysis process for the programmer. This project will address all aspects of performance analysis, from hardware power and performance counters, to a toolchain that processes and visualises information from these counters, to applications that will be used as use-cases to drive the entire design. To access the new hardware performance counters a standardisable API will be produced to interface to a prototype hardware implementation. This will let the analysis and visualisation tool connect to any GPU driver that implements the API. The consortium's expertise will be used not only to drive the initial design of the API and analyses, but also multiple application use-cases will be developed to demonstrate the efficacy of the toolchain.

The large-scale rollout of 5G networks has started becoming a reality, with big vendors deploying 5G network equipment and MNOs being on the verge of its commercialization. However, in parallel to the deployment of such 5G high-performing network, there is an unprecedented urge to support solutions tailored to specific types of networks, capable of offering ubiquitous coverage with high data rate availability, densification and high capillarity of access points to enhance 5G system capacity. Affordable5G aims at creating a 5G network that will deliver a complete and affordable solution covering the needs of private and enterprise networks through technical innovation that span across all parts of 5G network, leveraging cell densification, RU/DU/CU split, hardware acceleration, edge computing and core network virtualization, seamlessly combined with the adoption of open source RAN, MEC and MANO solutions, for cloud-native, micro-service based deployments. To achieve its innovative and ambitious goal, the consortium brings together ten European SMEs, supported by MVNOs, system integrators and research institutes, grasping the opportunity to enhance their products, according to each company’s roadmap, while fostering collaboration among them. In this way, Affordable5G will offer a first-class opportunity to European SMEs to become frontrunners in the global 5G competition, facilitating them in their commercialization paths and strategies in niche market cases of neutral hosting, private networks and MVNOs with new entrant actors. The innovative solution will be evaluated and validated in two vertical pilots related to emergency communications and smart cities, which have been properly selected as being highly representative in terms of system performance, scalability, mobility patterns, slice types, deployment requirements and impact in the future 5G market.

The major objective of TETRAMAX is to provide an implementation of the European “Smart Anything Everywhere (SAE)” initiative in the domain of customized low energy computing (CLEC) for CPS and the IoT. The project builds on three major activity lines: (1) Stimulating, organizing, co-funding, and evaluating different types of cross-border Application Experiments, providing “EU added value” via innovative CLEC technologies to first-time users and broad markets in European ICT-related industries, (2) Building and leveraging a new European CLEC competence center network, offering technology brokerage, one-stop shop assistance and CLEC training to SMEs and mid-caps, and with a clear evolution path towards new regional digital innovation hubs where needed, and (3) Paving the way towards self-sustainability based on pragmatic and customized long-term business plans. The project impact will be measured based on well-defined, goal-oriented performance indicators. The immediate ambition of TETRAMAX within its duration is to support 50+ industry clients and 3rd parties in the entire EU with innovative technologies, leading to an estimated revenue increase of 25 Mio. € based on 50+ new or improved CLEC-based products, 10+ entirely new businesses/SMEs initiated, as well as 30+ new permanent jobs and significant cost and energy savings in product manufacturing. Moreover, in the long term, TETRAMAX will be the trailblazer towards a reinforced, profitable, and sustainable ecosystem infrastructure, providing CLEC competence, services and a continuous innovation stream at European scale, yet with strong regional presence as preferred by SMEs.