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Nvidia's $250 Jetson: AI Computing for Hobbyists

Ken Metral

Ken Metral

— 1 min read
Nvidia's $250 Jetson: AI Computing for Hobbyists
Credit: Jetson Orin Nano/Nvidia Corporation

Nvidia has launched the $249 Jetson Orin Nano, a compact, palm-sized computer designed for running artificial intelligence applications locally. This new iteration doubles the speed and efficiency of its predecessor while cutting the price in half, according to Nvidia. The Orin Nano is capable of processing up to 70% more computational tasks and delivers nearly 70 trillion operations per second, all while consuming just 25 watts of power.

Ideal for hobbyists and developers, the Orin Nano is tailored for training AI applications and powering devices like robots and industrial tools without relying on cloud infrastructure. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showcased the device in a playful YouTube announcement, pulling the tiny computer out of an oven in his kitchen.

“A long time ago, we created a brand new type of processor, it was a robotics processor,” Huang explained, reflecting on Nvidia’s early vision for AI computing. While originally intended for robots, Jetson devices have now evolved to support modern AI models like Meta’s Llama.

One notable use case is Sam Altman’s startup World (formerly Worldcoin), which uses Nvidia’s Jetson module to power its Orb, a device that verifies human identity through iris scans. The latest iteration of the Orb, equipped with Jetson technology, delivers five times the AI performance of its predecessor, enabling faster identity verifications.

The Orin Nano essentially serves as a portable AI “brain,” capable of being integrated into hardware to enable real-time AI functionality. For industries like warehousing and robotics, where latency and uptime are critical, the local processing power of the Orin Nano offers significant advantages over cloud-based alternatives. While it won’t replace Nvidia’s high-end GPUs used for large-scale AI training, the Orin Nano is ideal for lightweight AI applications and edge computing.

For AI enthusiasts, tinkerers, and developers, the Orin Nano opens doors to new possibilities, making AI-powered devices more accessible, efficient, and cost-effective.

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