Nvidia has unveiled the Jetson TX1, a credit-card sized computer with machine learning capabilities that could help hardware developers add complex features to their projects.

The company says its latest system-on-chip module could enable some exciting technologies: “drones that don’t just fly by remote control, but navigate their way through a forest for search and rescue; compact security surveillance systems that don’t just scan crowds, but identify suspicious activity; and robots that don’t just perform tasks, but tailor them to individuals’ habits.”

The Jetson TX1 is designed to process deep neural networks — software that mimics how the human brain recognizes objects and interprets information.

The miniscule system offers 1 teraflop of performance — between two and three times the power of the company’s Tegra K1, which runs in devices like the Nvidia Shield portable gaming device, Google’s Nexus 9 tablet and some Chromebooks from Acer and HP.

The TX1 should make it easy for hardware builders to experiment with AI-assisted robots, self-driving and autonomous navigation systems in vehicles and drones, and smart Internet of Things devices.

Pre-orders for the TX1 developer kit start on November 12 at $599 in the US. It will become available in other regions in the next few weeks. Nvidia says it will ship orders of over 1,000 units from early 2016 at $299 each.

➤ Tiny NVIDIA Supercomputer to Bring Artificial Intelligence to New Generation of Autonomous Robots and Drones [Nvidia Newsroom]

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