Seeed Grove Vision AI Module V2 (WiseEye2)

The Grove Vision AI Module V2 (Himax WiseEye2) is a highly efficient MCU-based smart vision module driven by the Himax WiseEye2 HX6538 processor, featuring a dual-core Arm Cortex-M55 and integrated Arm Ethos-U55 neural network component. It integrates Arm Helium technology which is finely optimized for vector data processing, enables a significant uplift in DSP and ML capabilities without compromising on power consumption, which is ideal for battery-powered applications.

• Capabilities: Utilizes WiseEye2 HX6538 processor with a dual-core Arm Cortex-M55 and integrated Arm Ethos-U55 neural network unit.

• Versatile AI Model Support: Easily deploy off-the-shelf or your custom AI models from SenseCraft AI, including Mobilenet V1, V2, Efficientnet-lite, Yolo v5 & v8. TensorFlow and PyTorch frameworks are supported.

• Rich Peripheral Devices: Includes PDM microphone, SD card slot, Type-C, Grove interface, and other peripherals.

• High Compatibility: Compatible with XIAO series, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP dev board, easy for further development

• Fully Open Source: All codes, design files, and schematics available for modification and use.

Quick links access:

• Firmware source code: [GitHub repository] - Coming soon!

• Edge Impulse pre-compiled firmware: [Edge Impulse Himax Repo] - Coming soon!

Installing dependencies

To set this board up in Edge Impulse, you will need to install the following software:

1. Edge Impulse CLI To install the Edge Impulse CLI, please invoke:

    % npm install -g edge-impulse-cli

   The himax-flash-tool is a component of the Edge Impulse CLI package that comes from Himax and is used specifically to flash Himax boards. It supports multiple boards and has several usage options:

    % himax-flash-tool --help
    Usage: himax-flash-tool [options]
    
    Himax WE-I and WiseEye2 flash tool
    
    Options:
      -V, --version              output the version number
      -f --firmware-path <file>  Firmware path (required)
      -d --device <device>       Device type: "WE-I-Plus" (default) or "WiseEye2"
      --baud-rate <n>            Bootloader baud rate (default: 115200 for WE-I-Plus and 921600 for WiseEye2)
      --skip-reset               Skip the reset procedure (in case the device is already in bootloader mode)
      --verbose                  Enable debug logs
      -h, --help                 display help for command
      
      % himax-flash-tool --version
      1.27.1
      % 
   
   
   Version 1.27.1 or later is the minimum required version of **himax-flash-tool** for this board. 
   
   To upgrade to the latest version of **himax-flash-tool**, please upgrade edge-impulse-cli as follows: 
   
   	%npm install -g edge-impulse-cli --upgrade

2. On Linux, please install screen:

    % sudo apt install screen

Problems installing the Edge Impulse CLI?

See the Installation and troubleshooting guide.

Connecting to Edge Impulse

With all the software in place it's time to connect the board to Edge Impulse.

1. Update Edge Impulse firmware

The board does not come with the right Edge Impulse firmware yet. To update the firmware:

1. Download the latest Edge Impulse firmware and extract it (Firmware coming soon!)

2. Connect the board to the PC/Mac/Linux via USB Type-C cable and press the black "reset" button (RST)

3. Within the extracted firmware zip file, there are install scripts to flash your device:

   1. For MacOS:

        mac% ./flash_mac.command

   2. For Windows:

        "C:.\flash_windows.bat"

   3. For Linux:

        linux% ./flash_linux.sh

In each case, you will select the serial port for your device and the flashing script will perform the firmware update.

NOTE: If the flashing script waits for you to press the "reset" (RST) button but never moves on from that point, its likely that you have an outdated himax-flash-tool and need to update your host's install per previous instructions above.

2. Setting keys

From a command prompt or terminal, run:

edge-impulse-daemon

This will start a wizard which will ask you to log in, and choose an Edge Impulse project. If you want to switch projects run the command with --clean.

Alternatively, recent versions of Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge can collect data directly from your board, without the need for the Edge Impulse CLI. See this blog post for more information.

3. Verifying that the device is connected

That's all! Your device is now connected to Edge Impulse. To verify this, go to your Edge Impulse project, and click Devices. The device will be listed here.

Device connected to Edge Impulse

Collecting data with the Seeed Grove Vision AI Module V2

With everything set up you can now build and run your first machine learning model with these tutorials:

Image models

• Adding sight to your sensors

• object detection.

• Counting objects using FOMO

Looking to connect different sensors? The Data forwarder lets you easily send data from any sensor into Edge Impulse.

Deploy model to Seeed Grove Vision AI Module V2 (Himax WiseEye2)

After building the machine learning model and downloading the Edge Impulse firmware from Edge Impulse Studio, deploy the model to your Seeed Grove Vision AI Module V2 via steps 1 and 2 of "Connecting to Edge Impulse" above.