Microchip – PolarFire FPGAs for Smart Robotics Applications

Built for Intelligent, Connected Robotics

Microchip PolarFire devices are designed to simplify robotics development while enabling advanced functionality at the edge. The PolarFire SoC family combines deterministic multi-core RISC-V CPUs with FPGA fabric, making it well suited for robotics platforms that require Linux based applications alongside real-time control. For cost- and power-sensitive robotic designs that do not require high-speed serial transceivers, the new PolarFire Core SoC FPGAs deliver an optimized balance of performance, integration, and flexibility.

PolarFire FPGAs further extend robotics capabilities with edge AI solutions such as VectorBlox Accelerator SDK for low-power inferencing and sensor bridge architectures that connect high-bandwidth vision sensors to AI processing platforms. Together, the PolarFire family enables robotics developers to move seamlessly from sensor input to intelligent action while maintaining deterministic behavior, security, and efficiency across the system.
 

NEW: PolarFire Core SoC FPGAs for Cost-Optimized Robotics

Scalable RISC-V SoC Integration for Value-Focused Robotic Designs

PolarFire Core SoC FPGAs extend the PolarFire SoC portfolio with devices optimized for robotics applications that do not require high-speed serial transceivers. These devices are well suited for embedded robotic controllers, compact motion subsystems, and distributed intelligence nodes where power efficiency, determinism, and cost control are critical.

By combining embedded RISC-V processing with FPGA fabric, PolarFire Core SoC FPGAs allow designers to consolidate control logic, peripheral interfacing, and real-time processing within a single device. A wide range of logic densities up to 460K logic elements, along with flexible packaging and I/O options, enables precise right-sizing across diverse robotic platforms.
 

Ideal robotics use cases include: Embedded robot controllers and subsystem nodes Compact robotic joints and actuator control modules Cost-sensitive industrial and commercial robotic platforms Distributed control architectures with deterministic behavior

PolarFire SoC FPGAs

Deterministic Multi-Core RISC-V SoC FPGAs for Advanced Robotics Control

PolarFire SoC FPGAs are designed for robotics systems that require tight coordination between high-level processing and real-time control. Built around a coherent multi-core RISC-V CPU cluster with a deterministic L2 memory subsystem, these devices support the simultaneous execution of Linux-based applications and hard real-time workloads.

This architecture makes PolarFire SoC FPGAs well suited for robotics platforms that integrate perception, planning, safety, and motion control within a single system. Industry-leading power efficiency and excellent thermal performance enable sustained operation in space-constrained and thermally challenging robotic environments, while built-in security features help protect system integrity and intellectual property.

Ideal robotics use cases include:

• Autonomous mobile robots and navigation controllers
• Collaborative robots requiring real-time safety response
• Robotics control units combining Linux and real-time tasks
• Intelligent robotic platforms with long operational lifetimes

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PolarFire FPGAs

Edge AI Acceleration and Sensor Integration for Intelligent Robotics

PolarFire FPGAs enable robotics developers to implement low-power, deterministic edge AI and high-bandwidth sensor processing without relying on external accelerators. Through the VectorBlox Accelerator SDK, developers can deploy optimized neural network inference directly in FPGA fabric using SmartHLS compiler flows, supporting real-time perception with predictable latency.

For vision-centric robotics systems, the PolarFire Ethernet Sensor Bridge provides a scalable path to connect multi-protocol sensors such as MIPI CSI-2, SLVS-EC, and CoaXPress to NVIDIA IGX and AGX platforms over 10G Ethernet. This architecture supports flexible sensor placement, long cable runs, and secure data transport from the robot edge to centralized AI processing.

Ideal robotics use cases include:

• Robotic vision and perception systems
• AI-enabled inspection and quality control robots
• Sensor aggregation and preprocessing at the robot edge
• Secure sensor-to-AI pipelines for autonomous platforms