Seeed Studio’s reComputer Mini is a small carrier board for the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano or Jetson Orin NX module that’s barely larger the the system-on-module itself at 88 x 56 x 17mm, or slightly larger than a credit card, and suitable for robotics and drone applications.
Despite its small size, the reComputer Mini still offers a good range of interfaces, including two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port with DisplayPort alt-mode, M.2 sockets for NVMe storage and wireless expansion, UART and USB JST connectors, and two 60-pin high-speed connectors for add-on boards. The board is compatible with 48V battery power systems thanks to a wide 12V to 54V DC input range through an XT30 power connector.
reComputer Mini carrier board specifications:
- Compatible SoM – NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, Jetson Orin NX with up to 100 TOPS of AI performance
- Storage – M.2 Key-M PCIe socket for M.2 2242 NVMe SSD
- Video Output – DisplayPort 1.4 via USB Type-C connector
- Networking – Optional WiFi and/or Bluetooth via M.2 Key-E socket
- USB
- 2x USB 3.2 Type-A (10Gbps) ports
- USB 3.2 Type-C host port
- Micro USB 2.0 device port
- USB 2.0 via 5-pin JST connector
- Serial – 1x UART connector
- Expansion connector for add-on board(s)
- 2x 60-pin high-speed connectors
- 10-pin power connector
- Debugging – 1x Debug UART connector
- Misc
- 4-pin 5V PWM fan connector
- Reset and Recovery Buttons
- 2-pin connector for RTC battery
- Power Supply – 12V to 54V DC via XT30 connector (DC jack adapter provided)
- Dimensions – 88 x 56 x 17 mm
- Weight – 80 grams
- Temperature Range – -10°C to +50°C
On the software front, there’s nothing special since the carrier board supports the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano/NX module, itself supported by the NVIDIA Jetpack 6.0 SDK. Seeed Studio does provide various Jetson examples on GitHub, but those are valid for all Jetson-based hardware from the company.
I was initially confused by the two 60-pin connectors, since I could not see any add-on board for those. I could find the pinout of all connectors of the reComputer Mini in the datasheet, and eventually realized there was a $59 reComputer Mini Extension Board with Gigabit Ethernet, four additional USB 3.0 ports, CAN Bus JST and XT30 connector, and two I2C JST connectors, plus a cooling fan.
The carrier board, extension board, and a fansink for cooling will be used in the reComputer Mini family of Edge AI boxes available at the end of July. The extension box on the bottom will be optional, and the box can be purchased without one. A wiki provided information to get started with the Edge AI computers.
The reComputer Mini Carrier Board can be purchased now for $89 on Seeed Studio with an XT30 to DC power connector and a micro USB cable. Two options are available: the extension board ($59) and an M.2 2230 WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 module ($5.69). The reComputer Mini J3011/J4012 computers, not to be confused with the reComputer J4012 mini PC, are all on backorder for $599 to $999, depending on the selected Jetson module and whether the extension is listed. Somehow, the mini computers are already available on AliExpress with or without extension, as well as on Seeed Studio’s Amazon store.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress. We also use affiliate links in articles to earn commissions if you make a purchase after clicking on those links.
