Economical AI: Nvidia Launches $59, 2GB Jetson Nano Computer system

Even though Raspberry Pi boards are great for accomplishing all varieties of responsibilities and they’re able of carrying out item recognition, they can be a small sluggish when it will come to real-time impression recognition. In 2019, Nvidia came out with an A.I.-concentrated Pi competitor in the $99 Jetson Nano. Guaranteed, the 4GB Nano experienced 4 situations as considerably RAM than the prime-level Pi at the time, but it was a lot more than 2 times as costly and didn’t come with Wi-Fi.

Rapidly ahead to 2020 and Nvidia is back with a 2GB model of the Jetson Nano that sells for a much more realistic $59 and, for consumers in some marketplaces (together with The united states), arrives with a compatible USB Wi-Fi dongle in the box. Because of out afterwards this month, the new Nvidia Jetson Nano 2GB is built to make A.I. far more available to hobbyists, children and aspiring developers.

To help far more hobbyists make use of its system, Nvidia is also introducing no cost on the internet instruction and certification packages for A.I. Given that the practically-identical 4GB Jetson Nano has been on the sector for a year and a fifty percent, there is also an current group of builders who’ve shared tutorials and open up-resource assignments. You can even acquire Jetson robot kits to construct.

Like the 4GB Jetson Nano, the new design is driven by a 64-little bit, quad core ARM A57 CPU functioning at 1.43 GHz, alongside with a 128-core Nvidia Maxwell GPU. In accordance to Nvidia’s numbers, the Jetson Nano 2GB scores everywhere from 8 to 73 periods higher than a Raspberry Pi 4 on A.I. benchmarks these types of as ResNet, OpenPose, Inception V4 and Tiny YOLO V3. Though we have not gotten to operate these tests ourselves, it really is uncomplicated to believe as the 4GB Nano was drastically more rapidly at A.I. than a Pi.

Nvidia Jetson Nano (2GB) Specs

Jetson Nano (2GB)
MSRP$59
CPU64-little bit Quad-main ARM A57 (1.43 GHz)
GPU128-Main Nvidia Maxwell
RAM4GB DDR4
ConnectivityEthernet 10/100/1000, Wi-Fi dongle (some locations)
Ports2x USB 2., 1x USB 3.,HDMI, CSI Digicam Connector
Pins40-Pin GPIO

 Jetson Nano 2GB vs Jetson Nano 4GB 

In an improvement from the 4GB design, the 2GB Nano receives ability in excess of USB Type-C where by the older unit experienced a proprietary barrel connector. True the older model comes with a 5V, 4A ability supply (it could also do 5W over a micro USB connection) and for the new one,  you’ll have to deliver your possess USB-C charger of at the very least 5V, 3A, although lots of of us currently have drawers whole of them.

In a significantly less-welcome modify, the Nano 2GB has much less USB ports, with only one particular USB 3. and two USB 2. ports compared to 4 USB 3. ports on the 4GB design. It also has just HDMI out even though the a lot more-high-priced model also has a DisplayPort connector. However, bundling the Wi-Fi dongle is a massive benefit for any individual who would like to use the board and is not close to a router with Ethernet out. The 4GB model won’t arrive with a Wi-Fi dongle and, in our testing, we uncovered several types that didn’t perform with it.

 Jetson Nano vs Raspberry Pi 

Like any current Raspberry Pi, the Jetson Nano 2GB has a 40-pin GPIO connector and a CSI camera port. The camera port is appropriate with Raspberry Pi camera modules, which is great news for anybody seeking to establish a robotic or iOT gadget that employs picture recognition. From a GPIO pin-out perspective, Raspberry Pi HATs (which includes the greatest Raspberry Pi HATs) could and must work, but the software program to get edge of individual HATs may possibly or may perhaps not exist for Jetson. 

Where by the Raspberry Pi’s formal working technique is Raspberry Pi OS, a port of Debian, Jetson Nano’s is eLinux, a edition of Ubuntu. So, whilst you could most likely get a large amount of the identical software for Nvidia’s board, you are unable to just down load each and every software program package that’s meant for the Pi and use them without modification.

 Bottom Line 

It is doubtful that the Jetson Nano 2GB will choose mindshare absent from Raspberry Pi, but it does have a opportunity to get vital mass with makers who want to establish far more A.I.-intensive assignments. For example, Maker Ahad Cove just lately intended a self-driving trashcan that is aware of when the garbage truck is coming down his road and drives alone to the control just in time for pickup. 

Cove uses a Raspberry Pi to electrical power the trash can by itself, but the laptop or computer which seems out his window and sees if just about every passing auto is the rubbish truck is an Nvidia Jetson Xavier NX developer package, a $399 product that is rather a bit quicker than the Jetson Nano, but makes use of similar technological innovation. 

Cove said that he has utilized Jetson Nano in the earlier for item recognition projects and, when we asked him why he doesn’t use Raspberry Pi, he famous that Pi is just not speedy sufficient to detect the truck in time to send out the trashcan out to the corner. It’s this type of community item recognition exactly where the Jetson Nano 2GB could arrive in quite helpful for hobbyists who really don’t have hundreds of pounds to devote.

Leave a Comment