It seems that Huawei's AI layout in handset terminals is relatively complete. It has formed a set of chips based, HiAI platform as the core, through the terminal, chip, cloud, and the ecological integrity of the industry. However, Huawei is playing in this entire industry. The formation of the law was not accomplished overnight, but it was continuously accumulating AI technology, laid a solid foundation in hardware, software and ecology, and gradually developed the AI function and market with five flagships.
From the establishment of Huawei Labs R&D AI technology in 2012 to the launch of the first generation of AI Dream Machine Magic at the end of 2016, Huawei took the lead to open the exploration mode of AI mobile phones. With 2017, Huawei launched its own mobile SoC chip, and will Equipped with Huawei Mate10, the computing power of mobile terminals has been greatly advanced. Since then, the launch of the Glory V10 has enabled Huawei's AI applications to show rapid growth. This is also the first time that domestic mobile phones have been decentralized to mid-range models. Entering 2018, two AI flagship Huawei P20, the launch of Glory 10 formally established the full formation of Huawei's AI ecological closed loop. From the glory launch of Magic in December 2016 to Huawei P20 in 2018, the launch of Glory 10, Huawei After a full 16 months.
While Huawei's five AI mobile phones are constantly being upgraded and optimized, it also reflects the rapid improvement and improvement of Huawei's AI capabilities. Then within 16 months, through the use of two brands and five mobile phones, Huawei has stepped up its efforts to develop AI mobile phones. State gradually spread from the cloud to the end of the whole line of AI ecology?
Full Software Defined AI Dream Machine: Glory Magic
2016 was a year in which the basic technology of artificial intelligence developed rapidly. Perceptual interaction technologies such as big data, cloud computing, face recognition, and speech recognition have become increasingly mature. However, the application of AI to terminal devices has not yet been officially launched.
Just at the end of the year, Huawei's mobile phone brand gloriously tried to use Huawei's 2012 laboratory's artificial intelligence engine, Magic Live, for the first time on mobile phones, and launched a software-defined AI mobile phone to honor Magic. The introduction of the mobile phone also marked the realization of the AI functionality through software.
According to Zhao Ming, President of Rongyao, Glory Magic was originally designed for a future-oriented mobile phone. Its appearance is very advanced even today: The design of the eight surfaces (that is, the front side and the back side are all curved surfaces), The thickness is only 2.8mm, the material is 3D arc glass plus aviation-grade metal middle frame.
It is said that Magic is a full-software-defined AI dream machine. The reason is that this mobile phone is equipped with Huawei Live Lab's artificial intelligence engine Magic Live for the first time, and for the first time, face recognition, fingerprint recognition, eye tracking, and lift are implemented on mobile phones. Hand bright screen and other AI functions.
Glory Magic's camera uses front and rear dual camera, infrared camera in the front camera with eye tracking technology, so that Magic can identify the user's intentions. For example, when the user picks up the phone, you only need to look at the screen to achieve automatic bright screen. When the eyes are free, Magic will automatically lock the screen.
The introduction of the Magic Live artificial intelligence system also adds features such as music recognition, scan code recognition, and nearby life service recommendations to Glory Magic. In Magic Auto's driving scenario function, the system can also provide users with answers and calls. Positioning and playing music and many other experiences. In addition, this phone also has Magic Play screen-casting function, Magic Link file transfer function and many other features that are convenient for the user's daily life.
However, today's view, this phone's AI function is also based on special, after all, Magic is a full software-defined AI mobile phone, there is no AI terminal chip blessing. Therefore, many AI software features are difficult to achieve in the mobile terminal.
The epoch-making advanced of computing power: Huawei Mate10
As the deep learning algorithm's demand for data volume increases, AI technology has begun to explore on the chip that provides computing power. In September 2017, Huawei developed a mobile phone SoC chip with an NPU module dedicated to neural network computing. Provides the hardware foundation for the Android machine to achieve terminal AI computing capabilities.
Less than a month later, Huawei launched Mate10, an Android device equipped with this chip, as Huawei's first artificial smart phone with dedicated AI chip support. The phone focuses on three major AIs: visual, speech, and language. Experience.
In terms of visual AI, Mate 10 also provides AI beauty features and AI scene recognition functions for the current mobile phone manufacturers' main AI camera function. Through face recognition technology, Mate 10 can automatically detect faces and perform beauty. After 100 million photos of training, Mate 10 can intelligently identify 13 scenes and objects, and at the same time, it can automatically adjust the camera parameters according to the attributes and take the initiative to paste.
In terms of voice AI, Mate 10 also upgraded the AI function of the voice assistant 'Little E' to make the small E more intelligent. It can be used to wake up the screen, customize the wake-up words, and continuously learn user habits and scene analysis. Provide customized personalized service and display it on the negative screen of the mobile phone.
In terms of language AI, Mate 10 also provides automatic replies and emotion recognition functions, such as text entity extraction, emotion recognition, intelligent automatic reply and other functions. For example, when you enter the text 'Avenger League 3' in a chat, Mate 10 can Automatically recommend viewing information. At the same time, Mate 10 equipped with Microsoft's custom AI-driven speech translation system, through the NPU accelerated real-time text interactive translation and mapping translation, faster than the traditional translation of 300%, can support 50 languages.
In addition to the three main AI features, Mate 10 also has a deep learning algorithm to achieve AI noise reduction, increasing the speech recognition rate from 80% to 92% in car noise scenarios.
In addition, there is a special AI application that analyzes local data and understands the user's personal habits, and turns off some invalid applications in the background while ensuring that the user experience is not affected.
With the hardware support of the AI chip as the computing power, the Mate10 user brings a more 'fast' experience, which also indicates that the more diverse AI function will be blooming everywhere in the mobile terminal.
Rapidly growing AI applications: Glory V10
As the mobile phone that occupies the longest time in consumer electronics products, its hardware performance is only the basis for providing services, and a variety of native application experience, APP applications and other service software, is the key to enriching the user experience.
However, AI needs many software-level and system-level optimizations from hardware infrastructure to APP applications. Implementing mobile-end AI application development on a chip-based basis will also involve the requirement for compatibility of the chip's underlying architecture. Therefore, Huawei will use AI chips. After being implanted in the mobile phone terminal, the software engineering department has developed the upper resources on the basis of hardware, providing various application interfaces for third-party developers, and enriching the AI application experience on the terminal.
During this period, Huawei launched the mid-range flagship Glory V10. Glory V10 can be said to be Huawei's first decentralization of hardware AI capabilities to mid-range models, while also adding more AI applications. For example, with the iPhone X The Animoji function similar to the 3D facial expression capture +3D animation expression reconstruction function, the following shows a demonstration of this function, the left animation giant panda and the right of the picture Animoji, can follow the person's expression change.
In the human-computer interaction mode, the Glory V10 maintains the pre-fingerprint recognition function. However, unlike the Magic-key Home button, the V10 directly attaches the fingerprint recognition module to the glass panel. This design is easy. Zhao Ming, the president, is known as the 'Golden Jade Jade' design.
The Glory V10 not only supports pre-fingerprint unlocking, but also supports face recognition unlocking, raising your hand to brighten the screen, supporting the anti-closing eye to unlock as well as the iPhone X, and the smart limit lock screen function. In addition, when lying down to play the phone, V10 Can track your eyes, so that the screen does not automatically rotate or information screen. The hardware module to support face recognition is a depth camera, but also make the V10 can do 3D face modeling + face recognition, sub-millimeter accuracy, Face recognition 400ms unlocked.
In addition, similar to Mate 10, Glory V10 also has AI beauty, AI scene recognition, AI voice assistant, AI casual translation and other functions, and supports a number of scenarios such as Skywalker, Huawei Wallet, Huawei Reading, and Party Mode.
The launch of the Glory V10 has clearly demonstrated Huawei's continued strength in the terminal AI. Whether it is the Mate series that focuses on high-end business or the glory series that focuses on young fashion, Huawei is fully decentralizing its AI capabilities to its own. Mobile phone production line.
AI ecological closed-loop full-scale: Huawei P20, Glory 10
In 2018, the AI battle in the mobile phone industry started in full swing. In only three months and four months, Vivo x21, Xiaomi MIX 2S, OPPO R15, Huawei P20, and Glory 10 have been launched. So far, four domestic mobile phone brands have been launched. With the flagship of the AI function, the technical barriers to the AI function of the mobile phone have been shifted downwards, and the terminal AI ability competition has entered the second half of the competition.
At the Glory 10 conference held last month, Huawei officially proposed the concept of AI2.0, and released two new flagships for Huawei P20 and Glory 10 on the front and back, which can be regarded as representative of Huawei's AI2.0 era. According to Zhao Ming, president of Huawei Glory, the concept of AI2.0 is mainly reflected in the soundness of AI platform construction and software applications. Specifically, Huawei mobile phone AI 2.0 is mainly embodied in four aspects: Independent NPU AI chip, AI photography , AI Selfie and AI Application Ecology.
Both Huawei P20 and Glory 10 continue to adopt self-developed mobile phone chips with independent NPU modules. Under the blessing of this AI hardware, the functions of the mobile phones are also more efficient. For example, the P20's built-in graphics function can more accurately perform dynamic video. This is faster than using Prisma. At the same time, when using the AI version of WPS Office, the phone can also identify documents, perform automatic corrections, generate PPTs and more with one click.
Glory 10's upgrade in the AI 2.0 camera is also reflected in the addition of an AI logo to the camera interface. The camera can be used for semantic segmentation of the image and can be partitioned for optimization. In the case of portrait shots, it is possible to achieve precise blur and intelligent composition. Natural beauty, including soft light, butterfly light, classic light and other light effects 3D portrait light effects. For mobile phone manufacturers are in the main AI self-timer, glory 10 has also been optimized to achieve pixel aggregation, multi-frame overlay , To solve the optical distortion, smart fill light to make skin more stable and other multiple functions.
For the convenience of the user experience, Glory 10 also classified scenes under AI albums. Through the image recognition function, it can intelligently recognize the photo content and perform classification management. For example, after the portrait recognition, it can be categorized according to a single person or a photo group. Including birthdays, parties, graduations, nights, sports, weddings, etc.
In addition, Glory 10 has humanized optimization on the human-computer interaction. It is designed to hide the bangs design through the UI design. In addition, a hidden ultrasonic fingerprint recognition module is built in the lower part of the front panel, and three navigation keys are integrated. A very introduced feature is the ability to wet hands to unlock.
Huawei's P20 Pro, a technology-focused fashion brand, also takes AI camera as an important feature. To achieve superior camera functions, the P20 Pro uses a new 40 megapixel + 20 megapixel + 8 million Leica three-lens system with up to 1.55 pixels. Um, can be shot in backlit or dim light conditions. AI scene recognition is also an important function of mobile AI. Mate10 already has 13 kinds of scene recognition capabilities, and scene recognition in P20 is more diversified and detailed to 19 categories over 500 kinds. In addition, P20 also has a special function, that is, you can double-click the volume button to take a picture when the screen is turned off. The speed is only 0.3 seconds.
In terms of AI 2.0 ecology, Huawei will use its HiAI platform to improve its AI capabilities to third-party developers and continue to expand its partner ecosystem.
After the HiAI platform is opened to third-party developers, the HiAI API can be used by developers to write AI applications on mobile devices equipped with AI chips. The HiAI platform has thus become the core of Huawei's AI APP ecosystem. Currently, the HiAI platform can be developed. Providers provide 50 APIs in 3 categories, including CV machine vision engine, ASR engine and NLU (natural language) engine, and IDE computing model cooperating with Microsoft.
For developers with different abilities, the HiAI platform also provides different levels of capability requirements. For developers who have AI development capabilities using an architecture such as TensorFlow or Caffee, HiAI will provide tools to allow developers to quickly migrate. The existing model is applied to the HiAI platform. For ordinary APP developers, HiAI can provide already encapsulated technologies such as speech recognition and image recognition. Developers do not need to do basic AI research and development, and can directly call the HiAI package. AI technology is applied directly.
At present, Huawei's application market already has AI application albums, including optimized applications from companies such as Sohu, Microsoft, Taobao, WPS, Treble, and Prisma.
In terms of mobile AI, Huawei has been at the forefront of domestic mobile phone manufacturers. It has pioneered the concept of AI 2.0. What is hidden behind this is the complete formation of AI ecological closed loop. From terminals, chips, clouds, and ecosystems, Huawei is relying on The technical strengths of hardware and software spread across the terminal AI layout. Whether it is the launch of self-developed mobile SoC chips, or the opening of the HiAI platform to third-party developers, or the deployment of voice assistance, fingerprint recognition and other human-computer interaction modes at terminals, As well as providing various cloud-based scenario services, it can be seen that Huawei is actively leading the arrival of the AI2.0 era and actively responding to the changes brought by AI technology to the mobile phone industry.
The most important reason is that Huawei has made adequate preparations and formed a unique set of industry practices: Based on AI chips, HiAI platform as the core, through the terminal, chip, cloud, ecological layout.
Conclusion: The steady improvement of Huawei's terminal AI capabilities
16 months ago, Huawei launched the first software-defined AI mobile phone to honor Magic, and officially launched the AI era of domestic mobile phones. After that, based on the AI chip as the hardware basis, Huawei successively conducted three product iterations on the AI mobile phone. , has launched four stages of five AI mobile products.
However, Huawei’s play on mobile phone AI is not blind, but it is a rule to follow and step by step. From the evolution of Huawei’s four-phase AI mobile phones, Huawei’s hardware, software, and ecology can be seen in many aspects. Continuous improvement of terminal AI capabilities, including not only AI chips, native AI applications based on mobile phone terminals, but also third-party application developer platforms with the HiAI platform as the core, Huawei rapidly built mobile terminal terminals in less than two years AI ecological closed loop.
The AI chip incoming mobile phone industry, as well as the AI of various mobile phone experiences and applications, are gradually changing the competition landscape of the mobile phone industry in the next decade. Players in the mobile phone industry will also face fierce and cruel competition. In 2017, Apple With the leadership of Huawei and the competition entering the beginning of the year, Android players such as OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi are rushing in. In 2018, it is believed that the AI storm that has come to the mobile phone industry in the second half of this year will become even fiercer. Become a necessary choice for players.
After Huawei introduces new artificial intelligence chips in the second half of this year, Huawei's Mate series equipped with next-generation chips will also come out. It is not difficult to predict that the new generation Huawei Huawei Mate series will be upgraded again in chips and software. New in Huawei With the launch of mobile AI chips, the Apple A12 chip will also be featured on the next-generation iPhone. Samsung, Qualcomm and other industry giants will not sit still and will certainly embrace the AI of mobile phones. By then, the global mobile phone manufacturers will set off a new one. Mobile phone AI competition for the turn.