Gumstix Launches Four New Edge AI Boards Based Around NVIDIA's Jetson Nano Module

Gumstix has announced it is diving deep into the world of edge artificial intelligence (AI), launching four new devices built around NVIDIA's Jetson Nano computer-on-module (COM) — including with 16 camera connectors, all compatible with the popular Raspberry Pi Camera Module v2.

"Ever since launching our first products in 2003 — running a full Linux implementation in the size of a stick of gum — we have sought to make the world of tiny devices more and more powerful," claims W.Gordon Kruberg, Head of Modular Hardware at Gumstix's parent Altium. "This new AI series of expansion boards, featuring the SnapShot, and our support of the NVIDIA [Jetson] Nano, grows from our belief in the power and primacy of neural network algorithms."

The new range is headlined by the Gumstix Jetson Nano Snapshot Board, which takes four NVIDIA Jetson Nano module — featuring NVIDIA's custom quad-core Arm Cortex-A57 CPU and powerful AI-accelerating 128-core Maxwell graphics processing unit — and places them into a board boasting 16 Camera Serial Interface (CSI) connectors all compatible with the low-cost Raspberry Pi Camera Module v2 and supporting up to 1080p video at 60 frames per second. An on-board gigabit switch acts as the backbone for the modules, with remote monitoring and reset provided by an integrated Espressif ESP32 microcontroller.

The Gumstix Jetson Nano Development Board, by contrast, is a smaller and cheaper design based on a single NVIDIA Jetson Nano module. The board includes two camera connectors, an M.2 E-key PCI Express port for optional Wi-Fi connectivity, an Ethernet connector, USB 3.0, HDMI, and a 40-pin header compatible with the Raspberry Pi general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pin-out.

The Gumstix Jetson Nano MegaDrive - no relation to Sega's 16-bit games console of the same name, sold the US as the Sega Genesis — is cheaper still, though drops the GPIO and Ethernet ports of the Development Board in favor of on-board 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity. Finally, the Gumstix Jetson Nano FastFlash is an optional expansion board which aims to make rapid deployment of any of the above easier through speedy flashing or mounting of the Jetson Nano module's on-board eMMC storage.

All four boards are now available to purchase from Gumstix's website, priced at $250 for the Snapshot, $170 for the Development Board, $100 for the MegaDrive, and $40 for the FastFlash. None include the Jetson Nano module itself, and require the latest B01 revision to be purchased separately.