Load a model

A board runs one model at a time in its Akida accelerator, and the app can replace it over Bluetooth. Like a firmware update, the package has to be on the phone first.

The package

A model is one .zip holding three files, at the top level or inside a single folder: info.yaml, which describes the model, and a matching pair <name>_program_info.bin and <name>_program_data.bin. The app checks that all three are present before it sends anything.

For an AkidaTag the name is kws, so the pair is kws_program_info.bin and kws_program_data.bin. Every AkidaTag firmware release carries two packages beside the firmware image: akidatag-kws-model.zip, the keyword spotting model, and akidatag-kws-edge-learning-model.zip, the keyword spotting model built for edge learning. Download the one you want from the latest release to the phone.

An AkidaTag package will not load on a BrainBoard1500: the two boards carry different Akida engine versions, and a model has to be built for the engine on the board that runs it.

Send it

1. Open Settings and tap Model Update.
2. Tap Browse Local Model and pick the .zip. The app shows its name and size.
3. Tap Install Model. The sheet shows:
   • Sending model… with a percentage over the model data. Stop Update abandons the transfer.
   • Installing on your AkidaTag… once the whole model is on the board. The board programs it into the Akida chip and runs a test inference, which takes a few seconds and can no longer be stopped.
4. Read the outcome and tap Done.

The app says	What happened	What to do
Model installed	The board programmed the model, ran a test inference with it, and is running it now.	Nothing. On an AkidaTag keyword spotting continues with the new model at once.
Model delivered, but not running	The board stored and checked the whole model but could not start it.	Restart the board so that it tries again; Factory Reset on the Settings screen restarts an AkidaTag. If it still will not run, this is not a model the board can run, and a different package is the way forward.
Model update failed	The transfer did not complete. The message says why.	Send the package again from the start.

A stopped or broken transfer leaves the board without a model

From the moment the model data starts to arrive, the board has given up the model it had. If the transfer is stopped, or the link drops, before it completes, the board has no model to run until a transfer completes: on an AkidaTag keyword spotting stops until then. Send the package again.

On the board

An AkidaTag shows the transfer on its LEDs: green on with red blinking fast while the model is being received, both on while a block is being written, both blinking three times when the model is running, and red on alone if the transfer failed. A Nicla Vision with a BrainBoard1500 blinks its LED blue quickly during a transfer.