Can somebody explain to me why they wouldn't just do this on the GPU? Isn't the GPU already designed to perform "hardware-accelerated image processing"?
I was kinda feeling dumb reading this... SoC is "System On A Chip"... "A system on a chip or system on chip (SoC or SOC) is an integrated circuit (also known as an "IC" or "chip") that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic systems. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single substrate."
When people started talking about Dark Silicon they didn't mean silicon that was never turned on.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_silicon" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_silicon</a>
So maybe Google wants to build a device that needs image processing, but the (initial) volume can't justify a full-on custom ASIC. (And for some other reason -- power, space, ... -- this hypothetical device can't use an FPGA.)<p>Maybe find a device that does have a custom ASIC (e.g. Pixel 2) and add the image processing functionality to that ASIC. Then perhaps use same custom ASIC for both devices. As long as the extra functionality doesn't increase the cost of the original ASIC, problem solved.
The submission URL should be changed to: <a href="https://blog.google/products/pixel/pixel-visual-core-image-processing-and-machine-learning-pixel-2" rel="nofollow">https://blog.google/products/pixel/pixel-visual-core-image-p...</a>
>If Google ever set out to compete with Qualcomm's Snapdragon line, an IPU is something it could build directly into its own designs. For now, though, it has this self-contained solution.<p>If Google wanted to do this they would probably have to buy out QCOM and their patents.