With all the previous mobile phone with artificial intelligence is different from the beginning of the unicorn 970 officially released, the phone began to have a real artificial intelligence and the chip.Perhaps, this chip will open the mobile phone AI singular moment.
Today we see the Kirin 970, is more than two years ago began to invest in research and development. Huawei was set at Fellow Ai Wei and its planning and R & D team in front of the challenge is: no one knows what will be popular on the phone after two years. The challenge of the team is the challenge of all mobile phone companies, 'an excellent brand of mobile phone users will be full of expectations for each generation of its products.' It is this user's high expectations, virtually to all mobile phone business brought pressure The
In fact, the innovation bottleneck on the phone, two years ago has emerged.
Apple from the iPhone6, the recent generation of products is not much change, nothing more than the processing capacity is faster, the screen is bigger, the user has no sense of such changes; Samsung GALAXY 4 after several generations of products, are also no obvious The higher the user's expectations, the greater the disappointment, the current iPhone8 is the best proof of slow sales.
Each generation has a research and development cycle, often two or three years before the input, determines the performance of today's market.For the direction of innovation bet, also like a gambling.
'If we did not innovate something two years ago when we started the project, it was definitely dead, so we tried to find some innovation, even if it could not be sure that the innovation could become popular after two years, but it will not work. 'Ai Wei sitting opposite the understanding, recalling this process. Of course, he knows that today's dynamic from the industry as a whole, betting AI is right. The next test is how fast he and his team can run , Can not throw off competitors.
According to Moore's Law, the computing power of the chip in the past many years in the rapid growth, but now Moore's Law gradually failed, and AI for the calculation of the speed of the higher requirements.
Previously, many of the AI functions integrated in the smartphone system relied heavily on CPU, GPU, or DSP for in-depth learning, which did not meet the computational effort and speed of the AI, and because their architecture was not designed for depth learning, And NPU (ie, the neural network processing unit), is designed specifically for machine learning.Faced with the same work, for the AI and NPU processing efficiency is very high, unicorn 970 equipped NPU unit in machine learning 50 times the efficiency of traditional CPU.
At the German IFA 2017 conference on September 2, Huawei CEO BG said: Kirin 970 is Huawei's first AI mobile computing platform, and is the world's first integrated dedicated NPU (neural network processing unit) of the artificial smart phone chip , Is the use of innovative HiAI mobile computing architecture, its complexity even more than Intel, but also beyond the Apple and Samsung.
In Ai Wei view, the phone's artificial intelligence is divided into four levels: pet level, partner level, coach level, angel level. Today's Kirin 970 basically reached the pet level, even the most elementary pet class AI, and Before the phone has a different nature of the previous mobile phone, in essence, or tools, when you need to use out, took out the phone began to work, while the AI mobile phone is an organ of the people, with people synchronized observation, understanding This world, at the same time gives different suggestions, and more importantly, and people together 'co-evolution'.
'Co-evolution', Ai Wei stressed the use of the phrase to describe the AI phone and the phone is different from the past, the most gratifying is that although the Kirin 970 is only the primary AI, but can be like a child, with the ability to grow fast. Can be said that all aspects of children are very poor ability, but there is a very good: fast! We hope that the same as a child just fine. 'Ai Wei look at the unicorn 970 today.
Terminal AI addresses three major issues: offline, fast, and secure
In September 25th Kirin 970 officially released the same day, Ai Wei made a demonstration at the scene: with Samsung S8, Apple iPhone 8 and Kirin 970 for image recognition, Samsung S8 can only identify 95 per minute, Apple iPhone 8 can be achieved More than 800 sheets, and the Kirin 970 chip through the local AI operation, each minute to identify more than 2000 sheets.
Kirin 970 has such a speed, based on two reasons: First, because there are AI dedicated NPU neural network processing unit; Second, because this calculation is in the mobile terminal (terminal) to complete, rather than the cloud.
With the rise of AI, it seems that large data will be spread to the cloud, in the cloud computing, analysis, and then the results back to the terminal device has become a common path.But through the cloud to achieve AI, facing three bottlenecks: the first no network The second is slow, there is delay; third privacy, the user does not want to upload personal information to the cloud.
Ai Wei believes that in the future more AI will be achieved in the mobile side, and do not need to pass the cloud.
Cloud and mobile phone side of the relationship is this: the basic large data analysis and data model is formed in the cloud, in the cloud through the training to form a knowledge base, the knowledge base on the phone side, when used from time to time call from the phone. It 's like you are learning in college, it' s cloud, and you're solving practical problems at work, and you need to use your knowledge to solve it, not to go back to college to see all the knowledge.
In fact, we are now shooting more and more powerful mobile phone, but because many users are not professional, many features will not be used, so take pictures of the camera, The level of promotion is not obvious.Then, if the professional photographer's skills 'stored' in the phone, when the phone encounters a different scene, different objects, it automatically calls these skills, without the need for users to manually adjust their own , Is not that the best AI?
Such as dark light scenes, the phone automatically adjusts the aperture; and encountered fast moving objects, smart fast shutter; when the camera is like a face, automatically adjust the color ... ... these in the 970 demo which have been specific The understanding of the first equipped with 970 mobile phone - Mate10 camera function will bring a subversive experience.
Summary, the end of the cloud + cloud benefits have three: first, do not need time to network, at any time AI; second, processing speed, no delay; the third is the user data, privacy protection.
Such as mobile phone face unlock, iris unlock the application, if there is no network, can not solve the lock, then the phone can not be used. There are networks, but to the cloud to match, the unlock time may need 3 to 5 seconds, If the direct match on the local mobile phone, it may be a few seconds is enough. Users unlock the frequency of a few times a few times always have to think about each time to wait a few seconds, will not 'crazy' out.
There is a privacy problem, if it is in the cloud, your portrait will be spread to the cloud, this process there will be many hidden dangers. Portrait is entirely your own nature of the data, there is your personal phone is the most reasonable From these three aspects, you can see the advantages of terminal processing.
In fact, this is similar to the moment is gradually becoming the edge of the calculation.Perhaps, the future of the AI path from a single cloud to cloud + end of the model to evolve.
Vertical integration: Kylin help Huawei terminal growth, from follow to beyond to lead
Kirin 970 chip release is in September, the first built-in unicorn 970 chip mobile phone Huawei Mate10 will be officially released on October 16. Only Kirin and Huawei terminal this vertical integration of the relationship in order to achieve this efficiency.
For a long time, the entire industry popular level of division of labor, such as Intel chip, Microsoft operating system, HP, Dell, Lenovo to do PC, it seems that it is also a most efficient industrial chain, but from Apple, people re-understanding The vertical integration of the higher efficiency of the chip, software, hardware, ecology, Apple itself from scratch to the end, this has the highest efficiency.
In recent years, from the industry point of view, Samsung, Google, Microsoft industry giants, have begun to do different degrees of integration. It is also inspired by Apple, after 2008, Huawei began to focus on their products to provide chips.
Why in the PC, home appliance industry, the level of division of labor application is very good, but the mobile phone industry began to become inefficient?
Because the user of different products to upgrade the expectations are not the same.Mobile, home appliances, PC, have to use for several years, or even ten years, the requirements of technological progress is not so fast, while the average mobile phone products for a year, When users want to keep up with a mobile phone is different.People for mobile phone innovation is expected to naturally higher than the car, home appliances, PC, all mobile phone manufacturers are under such pressure under constant iteration.
If the chip in accordance with the past division of labor, the chip only consider the chip innovation, storage only consider the storage of innovation, we each innovation, and then to the terminal business to integrate innovation, the whole industry chain is too long, the efficiency of innovation will inevitably slow down - because You want to work with more people to discuss, rather than a business decision all.
Vertical integration is more suitable for the current mobile phone industry, the efficiency will have a natural advantage.For example, Kylin 970 at the same time, Huawei Mate10 can cooperate with the development of new features in the 970 release less than a month, Huawei Mate10 can be officially released and Began to sell, almost can be synchronized. This is difficult to achieve in the high-pass chip industry chain.
Vertical integration, in addition to innovation speed, there is another advantage that other manufacturers can not match: a lot of features can be optimized to the chip layer, rather than the software layer.
Such as pseudo-base stations, users often encounter security risks. Huawei engineers in the test chip communication capabilities found that the cell phone signal grid is full, but can not call the phone. After investigation found to be resident in the pseudo-base station . For this problem, Huawei from the beginning of the Kirin 950, in the chip layer to increase the ability to identify pseudo-base stations, and other mobile phones for the identification of pseudo-base station is completed in the software layer. Huawei mobile phone will not receive the pseudo-base station sent messages and Telephone, while the other phone is received after the analysis, excluding.
A security expert so understand the difference between the two understand the note: chip layer recognition is tantamount to not let the bad guys, and the software layer to identify the way is to make good people, bad people are first come, and then through the screening and then kicked out the bad guys. Obviously, do not let the bad guys door, the safety factor is higher.And equipped with unicorn 950, 650 after the Huawei mobile phone, through the chip layer plus the software layer of dual recognition, more protection of the user's information security.
Of course, Ai Wei is clear that vertical integration, while improving efficiency, but there is also a big drawback: the risk is greater. 'All the cost you are carrying their own.'
Qualcomm launched Xiaolong 835, many manufacturers can use, a sold well, there are other home, the total market is large, you can share the cost of R & D and R & D risk.Cyline only to Huawei mobile phone chip, a huge R & D investment , We have to look at the performance of the late Huawei mobile phone. 'In recent years we strive to support the innovation of Huawei's mobile phone innovation, in fact, the risk and pressure are great.' Ai Wei admitted.
Understand that such a vertical integration, Huawei is also a rising position in recent years, one of the reasons.
Huawei released the world's first support for LTE Cat4 Modem chip Balong 710; 2013 launched the world's first support LTE Cat6 MODEM chip Balong 720; 2014 released the world's first heterogeneous 8-core Cat6 SoC chip Kirin 920; 2015 released the world's first The 16nm process phone SoC chip Kirin 950 and the world's first Cat12 / 13 Modem chip Balong 750; 2016 launched the world's first support inSE built-in security engine to achieve financial security SoC chip Kirin 960 ...
With the accumulation of technology in the field of communications, Huawei in the field of chips from catching up to beyond, each chip leader in the phone's terminal all reflected, but also slowly laid the Huawei mobile phone today's leading edge.
A new ecology about artificial intelligence is brewing
In the unicorn 970 release site, there are some on the AI application display, including the camera, audio-visual experience and battery life, etc. However, the overall feeling is to understand the application of too little before Apple iPhone8 release, there are AI, But the main application on one: face recognition.
In fact, AI in the mobile phone side of the application has just begun, the unicorn 970 chip performance, especially AI processing performance has been greatly improved, then the entire mobile phone industry can quickly enter the real era of artificial intelligence, more or to rely on Ecological development.As an industry source said: mobile phone AI also lack of killer applications, so that consumers can really perceive the value.
Ai Wei said, AI technology is a basic ability, the future will be driven by the development of application scenarios.
This time, the unicorn 970 will consider the HiAI and Andrews AI API interface open to the two developers, so that developers can develop a variety of Andrews in the above applications, and to promote the depth of AI and mobile phone integration, and thus bring consumption A revolutionary experience. Ai Wei said that the future of Huawei will also provide open source development board, its debugging port is only a USB, developers as long as the open source community can download the development environment, development and application.
'We both provide means, but also to give you see a future application of the future. Ideas people can start doing.' In Ai Wei view, AI in the mobile phone on the explosive application, most likely appear in the Huawei's future development platform for millions of developers.
Of course, the AI is now not a gimmick, from Apple, Samsung, Huawei and other leading manufacturers point of view, the whole of the ecological start is inevitable.However, only to Huawei analysis, is expected in 2019 with AI mobile phone stock will be 100 million units, and then Plus other mobile phone manufacturers, 2019 AI mobile phone has 2,300 million stock is normal.Then for APP developers, this is a huge opportunity. 'You catch up to seize the initiative.' Ai Wei said.