NVIDIA Jetson Nano: JetBot Intro

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Overview

It took a bit, but I was able to finally gather the bits and pieces to get started on my version of the NVIDIA Jetson Nano JetBot.  The JetBot is an Mobile Robot Platform that uses the NVIDIA Jetson Nano for its compute power for AI-powered deep learning autonomous navigation.  The Jetson Nano is the latest Single Board computer, or rather System-on-Module in the Jetson line by NVIDIA.   The Nano is a more affordable System at $99 US where the Jetson TX2 runs $299 - $749 and the Jetson AGX Xavier at $1,099, although the Nano does have a scaled down set of features.

Related posts

NVIDIA Jetson Nano

https://www.element14.com/community/people/jomoenginer/blog/2019/04/28/nvidia-jetson-nano-jetbot-assemble

https://www.element14.com/community/people/jomoenginer/blog/2019/05/14/nvidia-jetson-nano-collision-avoidance

NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developers Blog

https://devblogs.nvidia.com/jetson-nano-ai-computing/

NVIDIA Jetson Nano Getting Started Guide

https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/learn/get-started-jetson-nano-devkit#write

NANO Specs

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/autonomous-machines/embedded-systems/

Feature	Details
GPU	NVIDIA Maxwell architecture with 128 NVIDIA CUDA cores
CPU	Quad-core ARM Cortex-A57 MPCore processor
Memory	4 GB 64-bit LPDDR4
Storage	16 GB eMMC 5.1
Video Encode	4K @ 30 (H.264/H.265)
Video Decode	4K @ 60 (H.264/H.265)
Connectivity	Wi-Fi requires external chip
Camera	12 lanes (3x4 or 4x2) MIPI CSI-2, DPHY 1.1 (1.5 Gbps)
Size	69.6 mm x 45 mm
Mechanical	260-pin edge connector

JetBot WiKi

https://github.com/NVIDIA-AI-IOT/jetbot/wiki

BOM

JetBot Software Image

https://github.com/NVIDIA-AI-IOT/jetbot/wiki/software-setup

  NOTE: Image is 64GB and may need a 128GB Micro SD card

  1.  Download the JetBot SD Card image from the software-setup link posted previously.

       The image used in this example is:

       jetbot_image_v0p3p0.zip

  2.  Etcher was used to Load the Image on the SD card in this example.

       NOTE: For uSD cards 64GB or above, the card must be formatted for ExFAT

       a.  On Linux, use mkfs-exfat

       b. If not already installed, in the case of Ubuntu, use apt-get to install the required package

$sudo apt-get install exfat-fuse exfat-utils

      c. Format the SD card

$ sudo mkfs.exfat -n sdxc64 /dev/sdh
mkexfatfs 1.2.3
Creating... done.
Flushing... done.
File system created successfully.

     d. Launch Etcher and select the image to install

     e. A SD card 64GB or greater will not show automatically in Etcher, so it is necessary to click on Select Drive to select the SD card

     f.  Once the card is selected, click Flash to copy the image to the SD card.

    NOTE: A Warning may appear regarding the size of the image.  Just click Continue

     g.  If performed on Ubuntu using Etcher, it is necessary to launch GParted to allocate the allocate space on the SD card.  Otherwise the Nano will not boot.

         Click Fix to complete the process.

     h.  Once the GParted process is complete. close the application and safely eject the SD card and insert it back into the Nano

JetBot Hardware

   The JetBot Hardware listed in the Bill of Materials is sourced from multiple online sources, however some items may not be available. Considering the JetBot image is hardware specific, it is best to sick with what is listed in the BOM or a fair equivalent. In some cases, there are multiple options for a particular item, such as the wheels where the wider and white rimmed wheels were chosen in this instance rather than the skinnier black wheels.  The type of Micro SD card seems to be important to align with the JetBot image size.

NVIDIA Jetson Nano

Chassis

  The JetBot Chassis, Camera Mount, Caster Mount and Caster Shroud were printed on a XYZ da Vinci Mini 3d Printer.

   A 3D printed gripper was added for future use.

   Chassis with Caster attached

Wheels and Motor Driver

   The BOM calls out the Adafruit DC Motor + Stepper FeatherWing Add-on Motor Driver which has mounting holes that align with it on the 3D printed chassis.  The motors are standard Hobby Geared DC Motors from Adafruit rated at 200 rpm. The Wheels are Thin White Wheel for TT DC Gearbox Motors that attach to the DC Motors,

  OLED Display

    The OLED Display is a tiny Adafruit PiOLED that is used to display the system IP Address and related data at boot and during operation.

Camera and Camera Lens

   The Camera is a Raspberry Pi Camera V2 that will have its camera module replaced with a Waveshare IMX219 Camera Module for 160 Degree Field of View

WiFi and Antenna

   The WiFi module is a M.2 Intel Dual Band Wireless-Ac 8265 W/Bt that attaches to the carrier board for both WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 support. There will be 2 Molex Wi-Fi 3.3dBi Gain 2483.5MHz/5850MHz Film Antenna attached to extend the WiFi range.

With the hardware in hand and the 3D printer parts completed, its time to assemble the JetBot which will be covered in the next post.