Skip to main content

Glossary

Common acronyms and terms used throughout this documentation. Entries are grouped by topic; within each group they are alphabetical.

Silicon & Compute​

CVU : Computer Vision Unit. The on-chip accelerator dedicated to classical vision workloads (filters, transforms, image-processing kernels). The MLSoC Modalix integrates a Synopsys EV74 CVU running at 750 16-bit GOPS.

ISP : Image Signal Processor. The on-chip block that converts raw camera sensor output (Bayer pattern, mono, etc.) into a usable image. The MLSoC Modalix uses an ARM C-71 ISP running at 1.2 GHz.

MLA : Machine Learning Accelerator. The on-chip block that runs neural-network inference. The MLA is the primary differentiator of the MLSoC Modalix and is what NEAT applications target.

MLSoC : Machine Learning System-on-Chip. SiMa.ai's product family of edge AI processors. This documentation covers the MLSoC Modalix, the second generation.

Modalix : The product name of SiMa.ai's second-generation MLSoC and the silicon at the core of every kit documented here.

NoC : Network on Chip. The on-die interconnect that wires the MLA, CVU, ISP, application cores, memory controllers, and I/O blocks together. The Modalix NoC includes performance monitoring, firewalling, and QoS controls.

tRoot : The hardware root-of-trust subsystem on the MLSoC that handles secure boot, key storage, and firmware authentication.

System Software​

BSP : Board Support Package. The collection of low-level software — bootloader, kernel, device trees, drivers, and root filesystem — that brings a SiMa.ai board up from power-on to a usable Linux userspace. See Board Support Package.

eLxr : A Debian-derived Linux distribution used as the default runtime on Modalix DevKits shipped after mid-December 2025. Userspace is managed with apt.

sima-cli : The host-side command-line tool used to flash firmware, install drivers, and manage SiMa.ai devices over the network or PCIe.

U-Boot : The bootloader used on SiMa.ai DevKits. Responsible for DRAM initialization, reading boot media, and loading the Linux kernel.

Yocto : An embedded Linux build system (poky-based) used for the legacy MLSoC BSP. Modalix DevKits originally shipped with a Yocto image and can be converted to eLxr; see Convert to eLxr.

Applications & Frameworks​

NEAT : SiMa.ai's application framework for the MLSoC Modalix. NEAT replaces the older Palette/MPK toolchain. Full documentation at docs.sima-neat.com.

NEAT application : A packaged on-device inference pipeline (model + pre/post-processing graph + runtime metadata) produced by the NEAT toolchain and loaded onto the MLSoC Modalix for execution.

Hardware & Form Factors​

DevKit : A pre-assembled SiMa.ai development board (Modalix DevKit, Modalix Early Access Kit, Modalix Early Access PCIe Card) intended for evaluating the silicon and developing applications before designing a custom carrier.

eMMC : Embedded MultiMediaCard. Onboard flash storage soldered to the DevKit. Used to store the boot image and root filesystem.

HHHL : Half-Height, Half-Length. A PCIe card form factor compatible with most server and workstation chassis. The Modalix Early Access PCIe Card is an HHHL card.

LPDDR5 : Low-Power Double Data Rate 5 memory. The system RAM used on Modalix products. The MLSoC Modalix supports 32- and 64-bit LPDDR5 configurations across 8 channels.

SoC : System on Chip. A single die that integrates CPUs, accelerators, memory controllers, and I/O — as opposed to a multi-chip module.

SoM : System on Module. A board that exposes a SoC plus its supporting RAM, storage, and power circuitry on a connector for integration into a custom carrier board. The Modalix DevKit is built around the Modalix SoM.

Interfaces​

GMSL2 : Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link, version 2. An automotive-grade serial protocol for transporting camera and sensor data over coax (FAKRA) cabling. Supported on the Modalix Early Access PCIe Card.

MIPI CSI : Mobile Industry Processor Interface — Camera Serial Interface. The standard high-speed serial interface for connecting image sensors to a SoC.

Deployment​

PCIe mode : A deployment architecture in which the MLSoC Modalix lives on a PCIe card plugged into a host system. The host handles I/O and orchestration; the card handles inference. See PCIe Mode.

Standalone mode : A deployment architecture in which the MLSoC Modalix runs as a self-contained device, with no host system, processing sensor data locally and emitting results over the network. See Standalone Mode.