PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Epiq’s Matchstiq X40 SDR platform for AI/ML applications at the RF edge

February 26, 2024

This week’s product, the Epiq Solutions Matchstiq X40, is a software-defined radio (SDR) and signal-processing platform suited for small-form-factor applications with stringent size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements, for example uncrewed system payloads. This SDR platform combines a high-performance NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16GB module with access to up to 18 GHz of RF frequencies to enable artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) at the RF edge.

The standalone SDR platform is designed to run AI/ML-enabled applications locally, eliminating the need for extensive server farms. High-performance RF signal-processing capability is enabled by power-efficient NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX modules capable of as much as 100 trillion operations per second (TOPS).

The challenge of RF spectrum data

RF spectrum data applications generate a firehose of data. Processing these large streams of digital data becomes even more challenging when thinking about SWaP-constrained deployment scenarios. 

Distributed processing at the edge refers to a system that has all of the data processing happening in the same integrated platform where the data is being collected. For an RF system, this translates to a system where the antenna, SDR, and CPU/GPU for executing an AI/ML application would all be self-contained in a single system. An example system configuration for AI/ML edge processing could be a payload bay of a small uncrewed air system (sUAS) where an SDR is creating raw digitized data from the RF spectrum and is processing that digitized RF in a neural net running on a local CPU or GPU to perform signal classification, channel estimation, direction finding, RF anomaly detection, and more.

The Matchstiq X40 SDR platform provides such capability with its high-rate data transport and computational signal processing that leverages the latest NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16GB modules. These are groundbreaking devices in terms of their processing capability: at a power consumption that scales between 10W and 20W, the Orin NX can achieve up to 70 TOPS of processing to support the most demanding neural net models.  

Matchstiq X40 Configurations

The SDR platform has two configurations:

• The high frequency configuration has four receivers and one transmitter—each capable of accessing RF frequencies from 1 MHz to 18 GHz with instantaneous bandwidth up to 450 MHz per channel.
• The low-frequency configuration benefits from reduced SWaP-C and offers four receivers and two transmitters - all capable of accessing RF frequencies from 1 MHz to 6 GHz with an instantaneous bandwidth of 200 MHz per channel.

Additional Features

• Small Size: 8.5" x 4.25" x 1.5"
• Low Weight: 2.2 lb (1 kg)
• RF Coverage: Up to 18 GHz

• Instantaneous Bandwidth: Up to 450 MHz

• Integrated Signal Processing: NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX and AMD Ultrascale+ FPGA
• Epiq’s standard libsidekiq software API is supported on the Matchstiq X40 and the G20/G40.  This API provides a consistent interface across the company’s SDR portfolio to simplify configuration, control, and streaming with each flexible RF transceiver.
• Enviromental options:
  • Storage: -40 °C to 85 °C
  • Operation: -40 °C to 70 °C

Epiq also offers a sister platform called the Matchstiq G Series. The Matchstiq X40 and Marchstiq G Series – G20 and G40 – are commercially available starting this year, providing a range of capabilities. For more information, visit the Matchstiq X40 product page, company’s website, or follow the links below.

Resources:

• To download Matchstiq X40 datasheet, click here.
• To read an Epiq blog on AI/ML Integration in RF Spectrum Analysis, click here.
• To learn about NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX, click here.
• To learn about the Matchstiq G20 and G40 Series, click here.
• To contact Epiq, click here.