#TinyML

Five distinct edge AI stations — an NPU dev board, a DSP module, an ultra-low-power MCU board, an event-based sensor, and a frame-based sensor — laid out on labeled trays on a bright bench, a shared probe caught mid-transfer between two of them

Comparing the Main Approaches to Edge AI Electronics and Sensor Systems

Three ways to put inference at the edge — dedicated NPU, DSP, and always-on microcontroller — and two ways to sense the world for it — event-based and frame-based — set out as tradeoffs, not a leaderboard.

By Brecht Corbeel · September 21, 2026 · 19 min read

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