MAX78000 CIFAR-10 Auto Test Example

Preparing the MAX78000EVKIT board

Clone the upstream firmware project

$ cd <maxim-sdk-directory>/Examples/MAX78000/CNN
$ git clone https://github.com/MaximIntegratedMicros/cifar-10-auto-test.git

Build and load the cifar-10-auto-test firmware following the 'Building the SDK Examples' document

https://github.com/MaximIntegratedAI/MaximAI_Documentation/blob/master/MAX78000_Evaluation_Kit/README.md#building-the-sdk-examples

Configure MAX78000EVKIT for running cifar-10-auto-test:

• Turn MAX78000EVKIT off by placing SW1 in the OFF position
• Remove camera module connected to J4 if installed
• De-select camera interface and select USB-SPI interface by installing jumper on JP22 pins 1 and 2
• Connect host to MAX78000EVKIT CN1 using USB Micro-B cable
• Connect host to MAX78000EVKIT CN2 using USB Micro-B cable
• Turn MAX78000EVKIT on by placing SW1 in the ON position

Preparing the host machine

The host application communicates with the MAX78000EVKIT using two USB interfaces, a USB-to-UART bridge and a USB-to-QSPI bridge.

The host application transfers image data to the MAX78000 using the QSPI bridge (Quad Serial Peripheral Interface). Connector CN2 is used to connect to the MAX78000EVKIT USB-to-QSPI bridge.

The host application receives MAX78000 inference results using the UART bridge (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter). Connector CN1 is used to connect to the MAX78000EVKIT USB-to-UART bridge.

The host application is written in Python and uses the following packages:

• pyserial -- USB-to-UART communications
• ft4222 -- USB-to-QSPI communications
• Pillow -- image data access

The the host application requires Python 3.7.x or 3.8.x. Python 2.x and 3.9 are not supported.

It is not necessary to install a compatible Python system-wide, or to rely on the system-provided Python. To manage Python versions, use pyenv (https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv).

Like the Python interpreter, Python packages do not need to be installed system-wide, or to rely on the system-provided Python packages. To manage external Python packages, use pip (https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installing/). Note that pip is installed with Python >= 3.4 downloaded from python.org or when working in a Virtual Environment created by venv.

Creating project directory and cloning upstream project

$ mkdir ai85proj
$ cd ai85proj
$ git clone https://github.com/MaximIntegratedMicros/cifar-10-png-loader

Creating the Virtual Environment

$ cd cifar-10-png-loader
$ pyenv local 3.8.6
$ python3 -m venv .
$ source bin/activate

Installing Python modules

$ pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Running the example

With the MAX78000EVKIT connected, powered on and running the 'cifar-10-auto-test' example, run the host application.

$ python main.py --device /dev/ttyUSB0 --path test-images

Where --device specifies the serial port associated with the MAX78000EVKIT USB-to-UART bridge and --path specifies the directory containing the test images.

The expected output is shown here:

Testing images from: /home/fwlogin/develop/ai85proj/cifar-10-png-loader/test-images

airplane1.png	Class:0
airplane10.png	Class:0
airplane2.png	Class:0
airplane3.png	Class:0
airplane4.png	Class:0
...