Nuvoton Technology, centred on its NuMicro M55M1 AI MCU, is partnering with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to promote integrated “hardware–software” edge AI solutions. These solutions support diverse application scenarios, including manufacturing, smart buildings, and healthcare, enabling industries across the board to adopt AI quickly in a “usable, manageable, and affordable” way, and bringing AI directly into frontline equipment and business processes.
Aligned with the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) initiative to build the Taiwan Smart System Integration and Manufacturing Platform, Nuvoton follows ITRI’s three key pillars for AI development—data, computing power, and algorithms—together with a six-dimension AI readiness framework covering AI strategy, organizational culture, talent and skills, infrastructure, data governance, and risk management. Based on this framework, Nuvoton modularises its toolchains, AI models, and development board offerings, and works with ITRI’s Chip and System Integration Service Platform Program to establish a TinyML micro-computing platform. This platform enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to complete proof-of-concept (PoC) projects with minimal entry barriers, progress toward pilot production, and scale through replication. At the same time, it promotes “dual-brain collaboration” between AI experts and domain specialists, increasing project success rates and supporting the government’s vision of building Taiwan into an “AI Island.”
As one of the few entry-level AI solutions on the market, the M55M1 integrates an Arm Cortex-M55 core (up to 220 MHz) with an Arm Ethos-U55 micro-NPU in a single chip, delivering around 110 GOP/s of acceleration for mainstream CNN/DNN inference. The chip features up to 1.5 MB of on-chip SRAM and 2 MB of Flash. It can be expanded via HyperBus to support HyperRAM/HyperFlash, enabling real-time, offline, low-power AI inference and control directly at the edge. Together with Nuvoton’s in-house NuML Toolkit and a variety of readily available AI models (such as face recognition, object detection, speech/command recognition, and anomaly detection), developers can quickly get started using a standard MCU development flow, effectively lowering the barrier to AI adoption.
Nuvoton and ITRI will first focus on three key real-world application scenarios:
- Edge inspection on manufacturing lines: Using CCAP for image pre-processing and U55 for inference to perform object detection or defect identification at the edge, supporting quality inspection as well as predictive analysis of equipment health.
- People flow detection and energy-saving control in smart buildings: Leveraging lightweight sensing such as PIR, ToF, or low-resolution imaging, combined with time-based and zoned control strategies, to drive lighting/HVAC on/off and dimming/airflow adjustments, thereby improving energy efficiency.
- Edge alerts for medical and long-term care: Performing posture and fall detection directly on end devices, uploading only events and key indicators to balance personal data protection with overall system availability.
Nuvoton and ITRI will continue to leverage Taiwan’s local supply chain and its strengths in hardware–software integration, using a systematic approach of “data × computing power × algorithms” to bring AI directly into real-world environments. With its single-chip capability to handle combined requirements in vision, audio, and control, the M55M1 enables small and medium-sized enterprises to embrace AI in an affordable and well-governed way.
Nuvoton is now collaborating with system integrators and field partners across scenarios such as manufacturing, buildings, healthcare, and public services, providing development boards, toolchains, and best-practice templates to help enterprises complete PoC and mass deployment in the shortest possible time. We welcome inquiries and partnership opportunities to jointly advance “AI in industries and industrialisation of AI,” accelerating AI transformation and value innovation across Taiwan’s many sectors.
