JetRVR AI Robot — Part 1
AI powered Robot made with the Jetson Nano and Sphero RVR
Nvidia introduced the Jetson Nano in 2019, an affordable single board computer made for AI processing which became immensely popular. Alongside the Nano, they released the Jetbot kit, an open source robot design for autonomous driving projects. Jetbot was an easy way for enthusiasts to experiment with computer vision and machine learning models at home or in their labs.
At around the same time, Sphero also released the RVR on the back of a successful Kickstarter campaign. The RVR is a mini programmable robotic rover, made to be extensible by allowing hackers to add additional hardware and even connect up micro controllers and mini computers.
While the Jetbot kit does the job, the idea of imbuing the RVR with AI capabilities sounded like an exciting project. Hence was born the JetRVR — a project which aimed to combine the smarts of the Nano and the tank like driving capabilities of the RVR.
Check out the latest JetRVR updates on Robopunk
A Perfect Match
Nvidia Jetson Nano
AI Performance: 472 GFLOPS
GPU: 128 Core GPU
CPU: Quad-Core ARM® Cortex®-A57 MPCore
Nano sized (100mm x 80mm)
Sphero RVR
Sensors: 9 Axis IMU / IR
Communication: Bluetooth
Battery Life: Approx 2 hours
Torque: More than enough!
Why the RVR?
The best thing about this combination is that there is no need to tinker with the hardware. Its a no-solder project. The RVR works well out of the box and drives beautifully. Although there is no official software support for the Nano, Sphero has a Python SDK for the Raspberry Pi which can be used for our purpose. Curiously the RVR does not come with built in WIFI. In order to drive it past the bluetooth range of ~10ft, it’s almost essential that it is paired with a controller like the Nano.
The RVR is a very capable mobile chassis. Sphero’s engineers have put a good amount of time into ensuring the drive mechanics work well, saving you the hassle of building your own. A comment has to be made about the RVR’s design. It’s beautifully put together and blows other Jetbots away in the aesthetics department. It actually looks like a robot instead of a motherboard on wheels.
Why the Jetson Nano?
The Jetson Nano is a favourite amongst enthusiasts for a couple of reasons. 1) It’s affordable and possibly the cheapest option for an all in one single board GPU computer with AI processing capabilities. 2) The Nano’s small size makes it perfect for embedded projects. In our case, the Nano sits perfectly on top of the RVR. 3) It has more than enough power for our AI processing needs, being able to handle multiple concurrent video streams.
In Part 2 of the series, we will look at setting up the Jetson Nano and RVR for our JetRVR project.
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