China has launched mass production of the country’s newly-unveiled first ever embedded neural network processing unit (NPU), marking one more major breakthrough in the country’s NPU research and development.

The VC0758 NPU, developed by China’s leading video technology supplier Vimicro is based on a data driven parallel computing model, which can greatly improve the smart chip’s computational ability at a lower power consumption rate, said Zhang Yundong, executive director of the Vimicro State Key Laboratory on digital multimedia chip technology.

Vimicro on Monday announced that it has realized mass production of the VC0758 NPU after five years of research, suggesting that China is now one of the countries with the most advanced artificial intellectual technology in deep learning based on a data driven parallel computing model, according China National Radio (CNR).

Zhang added that the chip is especially skilled in processing multimedia data such as videos and images. Its capabilities will especially be brought into full play when it is used for embedded computer vision applications, CNR reported.

The CNR noted that the smart chip will give a major boost to improvement for China’s video surveillance industry and can help the country to establish a leading position in the world.

According to China Central Television, the VC0758 will be widely employed in drone, intelligent drive assistance systems or in the field of robot vision.