Nvidia has today taken the wraps off Jetson TX2, its latest credit card-sized embedded computing platform that delivers AI capabilities at the edge to present technology products such as factory robots, commercial drones, and smart cameras. This is also the successor to the Jetson TX1 and offers twice the performance and power efficiency, drawing less than 7.5 watts of power.
As for the specifications of this AI-capable board, Nvidia has now shifted another one of its platforms to adopt high-performing Pascal architecture GPU. It also includes two 64-bit Nvidia ARM chips, coupled with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 32GB of eMMC internal storage. It also comes integrated with connectivity options such as 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and even 1GB Ethernet for wired connections.
Further, the Jetson TX2 is being powered by JetPack 3.0, the latest version of the AI SDK that packs support for deep neural networks through packages – TensorRT 1.0 and cuDNN 5.1, as well as other computer vision and image processing libraries such as VisionWorks 1.6 and CUDA 8. It also supports other graphics drivers and APIs, including OpenGL 4.5, OpenGL ES 3.2, EGL 1.4 and Vulkan 1.0.
Such performance specs on the Jetson TX2 make it possible for the platform to perform edge computing. This means data processing activities are no longer happening in the cloud but instead at or near the processor surface. The said platform is, thus, more capable of leading to the creation of faster, cheaper and accurate devices.
Talking about the launch, Deepu Talla, vice president and general manager of the Tegra business at NVIDIA said,
Jetson TX2 brings powerful AI capabilities at the edge, making possible a new class of intelligent machines. These devices will enable intelligent video analytics that keep our cities smarter and safer, new kinds of robots that optimize manufacturing, and new collaboration that makes long-distance work more efficient.
Further, Nvidia has revealed that its partners are already using the Jetson platform to build powerful and robust connected solutions for today’s world. Cisco is one of the partners and is using the advanced graphics and AI computing capabilities to “add features such as facial and speech recognition to its Cisco Spark products that connect everyone, everywhere.” Another partner, Enroute, is now using the Jetson platform to power autonomous search and rescue drones, capable of carrying payloads of up to 20 pounds.
Nvidia has now started accepting pre-orders for the Jetson TX2 Developer Kit in the United States and Europe with other locations to be added in coming weeks. You’ll have to shell out $599 to purchase this kit, which will ship out on March 14. The company expects to launch the platform more widely in the second quarter of 2017. It will then retail the Jetson TX2 for $399, alongside the existing TX1 which will continue to sell at reduced prices.
