Updates from Coral

The Coral Team
April 11, 2019

We've just released some updates to the Coral platform to address customer feedback and make it easier to use our products and toolchain.

Updated compiler

The number one request we've had is for a more open compiler, so we're excited to release a new Edge TPU model compiler that allows for more architecture types.

We've removed the restriction for specific architectures, allowing you to submit any model architecture that you want. But beware that not all TensorFlow operations are supported by the Edge TPU, and there are specific design requirements that your model must meet in order for it to take full advantage of the Edge TPU at runtime.

For more information, read our updated guide to TensorFlow models on the Edge TPU.

New TensorFlow Lite C++ API

To better suit a variety of application needs, we've released a new C++ API that works atop the TensorFlow Lite C++ API so you can execute inferences on an Edge TPU.

Read more about the C++ API.

Updated Python API

The Python API has some updates as well, including a new ability to run multiple models in parallel, using multiple Edge TPUs.

If you're using a Dev Board, you'll receive the latest library when you update your Mendel system image (see below).

If you're using a USB Accelerator, you need to install the latest edgetpu library on your host computer. But due to changes we made to the library installation path, you must first uninstall your previous version with the following commands:

# Delete the library runtime:
sudo rm /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libedgetpu.so
# Or if on Raspberry Pi delete it like this:
sudo rm /lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libedgetpu.so

# Delete edgetpu.egg-link file
rm $HOME/.local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/edgetpu.egg-link

# Remove line ending with 'python-tflite-source' from easy-install.pth
find $HOME/.local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/easy-install.pth -exec sed -i '/python-tflite-source$/d' {} \;

Note: Your files might instead be saved in the python3.5 path.

Then download the new library from here and run the install.sh script inside the package.

Updated Mendel OS and MDT tool

Finally, we're releasing a new version of Mendel OS (3.0 Chef) for the Dev Board.

Most notable in this update is increased security for SSH authentication. After you update your board, you won't be able to immediately SSH using the "mendel" user because we disabled password authentication by default. You must first transfer an SSH key onto the board, and the easiest way to do that is using the new Mendel Development Tool (MDT).

To update your existing board, you need to reflash the system image. Then install MDT on your host computer, connect a USB cable, and open a shell by running mdt shell.

One more thing

Earlier this week, we released the Environmental Sensor Board, an accessory board for the Coral Dev Platform (and Raspberry Pi). It has integrated light, temperature, humidity, and barometric sensors, and the ability to add more sensors via it's four Grove connectors. The secure element on-board also allows for easy communication with the Google Cloud IOT Core.

We're excited to keep evolving the Coral products please keep sending us feedback at coral-support@google.com