Ambarella N1 SoC brings Generative AI to the edge for video analytics, robotics, industrial applications

Ambarella N1

Ambarella has been working on adding support for generative AI and multi-modal large language models (LLMs) to its AI Edge processors including the new 50W N1 SoC series with server-grade performance and the 5W CV72S for mid-range applications at a fraction of the power-per-inference of leading GPU solutions. Last year, Generative AI was mostly offered as a cloud solution, but we’ve also seen LLM running on single board computers thanks to open-source projects such as Llama2 and Whispter, and analysts such as Alexander Harrowell, Principal Analyst, at Omdia expect that “virtually every edge application will get enhanced by generative AI in the next 18 months”. The Generative AI and LLM solutions running on Ambarella AI Edge processors will be used for video analytics, robotics, and various industrial applications. Compared to GPUs and other AI accelerators, Ambarella provides AI Edge SoC solutions that are up to 3x more power-efficient per generated […]

This New X-Fly drone mimics a bird’s flight (Crowdfunding)

x fly the drone designed to soar like a bird

Aeronautical engineer Edwin Van Ruymbeke has introduced X-Fly, a drone that emulates the flight pattern of a bird. The drone communicates via Bluetooth using the STM32WB15CC microcontroller, has a range of 100 meters, and can fly for 8-12 minutes with a swappable battery system. The company mentions that they have collaborated with the French military to develop the flapping wings mechanism, which incorporates gyroscopes and g-sensors, ensuring a stable flight. The drone can be controlled with a smartphone app or an attachable optical joystick and It’s also durable against crashes, has a quick-swap battery system, and improved wing mechanics for longer flights. We’ve previously covered drones such as the Qualcomm Flight RB5-based drone Kudrone Nano Drone and some drone kits like Qualcomm Flight Pro. Feel free to explore these if you’re interested. Key Features and Specification of X-Fly Drone: Control Board – The PCB features an STM32WB15CC Bluetooth microcontroller, motor […]

AAEON COM-R2KC6 – A COM Express Module featuring the AMD Ryzen Embedded R2000 Series

AAEON COM-R2KC6 front

AAEON, a Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer, has released the COM-R2KC6, a new COM Express module in the Type 6 compact form factor. This computer-on-module board is the first COM Express module to feature AMD’s mid-range processor series, the Ryzen Embedded R2000 series. The R2KC6 will be sold with an R2000 CPU, with TDP ranging from 15W to 45W and up to 4 cores and 8 threads (4C/8T). The R2000 SoCs provide up to two times the I/O connectivity and CPU core count of their R-series predecessors. Relatedly, ADLINK recently announced a COM Express Type 7 module based on AMD’s Ryzen Embedded V3000 processor. The COM-R2KC6 supports four simultaneous 4K displays through an embedded DisplayPort (eDP) connector and three Digital Display Interface (DDI) connectors. This means the integrated AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics card can be used to its maximum potential. Additional graphics support is available through the board’s PEG x4 slot. […]

Orbbec Femto Mega 3D depth camera review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and first try

Orbbec Femto Mega review OrbbecViewer

Orbbec sent us a Femto Mega 4K RGB and 3D depth and camera for review. The camera is powered by an NVIDIA Jetson Nano module, features Microsoft ToF technology, and outputs RGB, TOF, and IR data through a USB-C port or a gigabit Ethernet port. I’ll start the two-part with an unboxing, a teardown, and a quick try with the OrbbecViewer program on Ubuntu 22.04 in the first part of the review because checking out the software and SDK in more detail in the second part later on. Femto Mega depth and RGB camera unboxing I received the camera in a cardboard package showing the camera model and key features: “ORBBEC Femto Mega DEPTH+RGB CAMERA”. The package’s content is comprised of a USB-C cable to connect to the host, the camera, and a 12V/2A power adapter. The front side of the camera features the RGB camera sensor, the TOF (Time-of-Flight) […]

Samsung announces ISOCELL Vizion 63D and Vizion 931 sensors for robotics and extended reality applications

Samsung ISOCELL Vizion Sensors

Samsung Electronics, the world’s second-largest technology company by revenue, has introduced two new camera sensors in its ISOCELL Vizion lineup, the Vizion 63D and the Vizion 931. The Vizion 63D is the world’s first indirect time-of-flight (iToF) sensor with an integrated depth-sensing image signal processor (ISP) according to the company, and is tailored for capturing high-resolution 3D images. The Vizion 931 is a global shutter sensor that has been optimized to capture rapid motion without visible distortion. The 63D is an indirect time-of-flight sensor that measures the phase shift between emitted and reflected light and uses this measurement to construct a 3D map of its surroundings. It features an integrated image-signal processor that performs depth sensing and can reportedly process images at up to 60 frames per second in QVGA resolution (320×240). Vizion 63D captures images at a pixel size of 3.5 µm (the industry’s smallest in iToF sensors, according […]

STMicro VD55G1 – A small, low-power global shutter I3C camera sensor for computer vision

STMicro VD55G1 global shutter camera sensor

STMicro VD55G1 is a new global shutter I3C camera sensor with a small die size of 2.7 x 2.2 mm, 804 x 704 pixels native resolution, and consuming about 1mW in its ‘always-on’ autonomous mode to wake up the host when motion is detected. Camera sensors are available with rolling or global shutter, with most from the former type, but as we’ve seen in our reviews of the e-Con Systems See3CAM_24CUG (USB 3.1) and the Raspberry Pi Global Shutter (MIPI CSI) global shutter cameras, the latter is much better we capturing moving objects clearly at high frame rates with fewer artifacts than with rolling cameras. The VD55G1 global shutter sensor will also benefit from the same advantage but is offered in a smaller package working over MIPI CSI and/or I3C, making it suitable for devices with small batteries used in applications such as eye tracking or motion estimation. STMicro VD55G1 […]

Orange Pi AIPro SBC features a 20 TOPS Huawei Ascend AI SoC

Orange Pi Huawei Ascent SBC

Orange Pi AIPro is a new single board computer for AI applications that features a new (and unnamed) Huawei Ascend AI quad-core 64-bit processor delivering up to 20 TOPS (INT8) or 8 TOPS (FP16) of AI inference performance. The SBC comes with up to 16GB LPDDR4X and a 512Mbit SPI flash but also supports other storage options such as a microSD card, an eMMC flash module, and/or an M.2 NVMe or SATA SSD. The board also features two HDMI 2.0 ports, one MIPI DSI connector, and an AV port for video output, two MIPI CSI camera interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 5 connectivity, a few USB ports, and a 40-pin GPIO header for expansion. Orange Pi AIPro specifications: SoC – Huawei Ascend quad-core 64-bit (I’d assume RISC-V) processor delivering up to 20 TOPS (INT8) or 8TOPS (FP16) AI performance and equipped with an unnamed 3D GPU System Memory – 8GB […]

myAGV 2023 four-wheel mobile robot ships with Raspberry Pi 4 or Jetson Nano

four wheel automous guided vehicle raspberry pi 4

Elephant Robotics myAGV 2023 is a 4-wheel mobile robot available with either Raspberry Pi 4 Model B SBC or NVIDIA Jetson Nano B01 developer kit, and it supports five different types of robotic arms to cater to various use cases. Compared to the previous generation myAGV robot, the 2023 model is fitted with high-performance planetary brushless DC motors, supports vacuum placement control, can take a backup battery, handles large payloads up to 5 kg, and integrates customizable LED lighting at the rear. myAGV 2023 specifications: Control board Pi model – Raspberry Pi 4B with 2GB RAM Jetson Nano model – NVIDIA Jetson Nano B01 with 4GB RAM Wheels – 4x Mecanuum wheels Motor – Planetary brushless DC motor Maximum linear speed – 0.9m/s Maximum Payload – 5 kg Video Output Pi model – 2x micro HDMI ports Jetson Nano model – HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs Camera Pi model – […]

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