Arm China releases "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP for AI applications, codenamed "Emei"

Editor's Note: Recently, Arm Technology (China) Co., Ltd. released its new-generation VPU (video codec processor) IP for AI applications, the "Linglong" V560/V760, codenamed "Emei," at its technology showcase "Linglong · Vision." Notably, with the official release of "Emei," all four of Arm Technology's self-developed IP product lines—the "Zhouyi" NPU, the "Xingchen" CPU, the "Shanhai" SPU, and the "Linglong" VPU—have been fully refreshed in response to its "All in AI" product strategy.

In the AI era, why is the VPU so important?

The VPU has become so critical because, in this era where video is the "new oil," it plays the dual role of data conversion hub and compute amplifier. Without an efficient VPU, AI systems would either "go hungry" due to excessive data volumes (storage and bandwidth bottlenecks), "stall" because compute resources are inefficiently occupied (wasted GPU resources), or "react slowly" due to excessive latency (loss of real-time capability).

Therefore, the VPU, together with the GPU and NPU, forms an indispensable hardware cornerstone of the "perception-computing-decision" loop in the AI era.

The "Linglong" V560/V760 emerges in response

In the hyper-video era, a flood of data is surging in, with massive amounts of video being generated across cloud, edge, and device sides. Facing vastly different application scenarios, video processing requirements also differ. For example, cloud AI scenarios are becoming increasingly complex, with parallel multi-model operation and dense high-load tasks, placing extremely high demands on video quality and video processing reliability; video interaction between the cloud and device sides is becoming increasingly frequent, and from live video streaming to video conferencing, low-latency codec technology has become a key support for ensuring real-time experience.

Arm China has long cultivated the VPU IP track and named its self-developed VPU product line "Linglong," implying all-around versatility and full coverage of countless scenarios. At present, the "Linglong" series already includes multiple self-developed VPU IP products for different video applications. The newly launched "Emei," as the fifth product, is the latest self-developed achievement under Arm China's "All in AI" product strategy. It can excellently meet the massive video data codec acceleration demands brought by the AI technology explosion and provide core technical support for video applications in the AI era.

Wang Yilei, VPU Product Director of Arm China

Wang Yilei, VPU Product Director of Arm China, said: "In today's era where AI and video empower each other, video processing is facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Our newly launched 'Linglong' V560/V760 is a new-generation VPU IP for AI applications. With outstanding performance, it will provide a powerful core for various video applications in the AI era and can cover all scenarios across cloud, edge, and device."

The "hexagonal warrior" among VPUs

The new-generation VPU IP launched by Arm Technology this time has hardcore strength and excels in every aspect, making it worthy of the title "hexagonal warrior" among VPUs. The product adopts a programmable processing architecture that integrates multi-core and multi-format codec, with a single core supporting 4K60FPS encoding or 8K30FPS decoding. It integrates CAE (Content Aware Encoder) advanced encoding technology and fully supports mainstream codec video standards such as H.266, delivering high performance, high efficiency, and low latency.

Introduction to the performance and advantages of the "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP

As the hexagonal warrior among VPUs, the "Linglong" V560/V760 combines six major features:

High performance: Compared with the previous generation, single-core decoding performance is improved by 100%, and multi-core operation offers high parallelism.

l High robustness: It has powerful error handling capabilities and can still perform error-correcting decoding even when the packet loss rate is as high as 20%.

l High quality and low bitrate: At the same video bitrate, encoding quality is improved by an average of 20%; at the same encoding quality, video bitrate is reduced by an average of 20%; in specific typical scenarios, bitrate is reduced by up to 80%.

l Low latency: Through slice-level codec control technology, codec latency is significantly reduced, and codec control is more flexible.

l Multi-OS support: Drivers support multiple OSes such as Linux/Android/Windows/RTOS, and the hardware supports multi-OS/virtualized applications.

l Information security: It supports TrustZone content protection, and advanced Mosaic functionality also provides comprehensive privacy protection.

Building-block stacking technology: advancing customers' agile development and product launch

Facing the diversity of cloud, edge, and device video scenarios and the diversification of requirements, the flexibility of video processing IP is facing unprecedented challenges. Relying on building-block stacking technology, customers can configure modules on demand according to specific scenarios without repeatedly developing the underlying layer, fully meeting application needs across multiple fields and scenarios, thereby greatly shortening new product R&D cycles and accelerating product launch.

Huang Xin, VPU R&D Director of Arm China

Dr. Huang Xin, VPU R&D Director of Arm China, said: "The core advantage of the 'Linglong' V560/V760 lies in its adoption of a flexible and configurable architecture and its integration of building-block stacking R&D features. This design is especially important for the highly fragmented multimedia technology market, enabling customers to configure on demand and innovate agilely."

Building-block stacking technology of the "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP

Overall, the "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP has five major technical advantages:

First, it adopts a flexible and configurable architecture: an innovative multi-core processing architecture that supports both multi-core same-task and multi-core different-task operation, meeting the needs of diverse scenarios.

Second, it integrates advanced CAE encoding technology: it innovatively implements CAE encoding technology and integrates lightweight AI, enabling full-chain intelligent optimization of "image semantic analysis - pixel-level preprocessing - dynamic bitrate allocation," greatly improving encoding quality and significantly reducing video bitrate.

Third, it covers mainstream codec standards such as H.266: it integrates multi-format video codecs and supports both H.266 standard encoding and decoding as well as various mainstream video standards.

Fourth, it features a multi-configuration, fully isolated hardware operating mechanism: the hardware supports multi-OS virtualization application scenarios and secure access to video content, meeting the requirements of complex application environments.

Fifth, it adopts slice-level codec control: through flexible slice-level codec control technology, codec latency is significantly reduced.

"To respond to the ever-emerging AI technologies and new scenarios, the future 'Linglong' VPU architecture will accelerate its evolution toward an AI end-to-end video encoding technology path, gradually building an AI VPU training framework featuring 'deep perception and global optimality' to serve a broader range of 'AI + video' application scenarios. 'Linglong' will continue to empower the myriad aspects of AI, provide video technology support for various AI applications, and help customers seize the initiative in the highly competitive AI era," added Dr. Huang Xin.

The "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP can meet the core demands of cloud, edge, and device full-scenario fields for video processing—"high efficiency, high quality, and low energy consumption"—and provide technical support for various video applications. The product can be widely used in Edge AI, Physical AI, and Cloud AI fields, helping customers significantly reduce storage and transmission bandwidth costs, and, based on building-block stacking technology, supporting customers in flexibly configuring according to application scenarios, thereby achieving the optimal PPA balance at the system level.

Edge AI field: In application scenarios such as handheld camera devices, smartphones, Pads, AI PCs, TVs, edge servers, and online meetings, the "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP significantly reduces power consumption and chip area while ensuring efficient system operation, and greatly lowers video bitrate and processing latency, achieving the best balance among user experience, battery life, and chip cost.

Physical AI field: In application scenarios such as intelligent driving, smart cockpits, and robots, the "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP supports multi-OS/virtualization applications, enhancing system integration flexibility and security and reducing the cost and risk of cross-platform, multi-application development and integration.

Cloud AI field: In applications such as data centers, video transcoding, AI servers, and cloud gaming, the "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP can achieve high-performance, high-encoding-quality, high-throughput, and low-latency video processing while ensuring data accuracy.

The "Linglong" V560/V760 has now gained market recognition, owing not only to its leading technical product but also to the accompanying support and services. Wang Yilei said that Arm China provides high-quality delivery and full-lifecycle support, comprehensively assisting customers in product R&D and commercialization and working with the industry to move toward a clearer, smarter, and more exciting "Linglong Vision."

It is reported that the "Linglong" V560/V760 VPU IP has completed authorization with its first batch of customers, and customer products are expected to enter mass production successively this year. From visual solutions to empowering the myriad aspects of AI, Arm China is building a core engine for video processing in the AI era through continuous technological innovation.