Active Silicon’s FireBird frame grabbers offer out-of-the-box compatibility and easy integration with NVIDIA’s Jetson platform to enhance image acquisition, accelerate GPU image processing and enable deep learning capabilities.
What is NVIDIA Jetson?
NVIDIA Jetson is a family of compact, power-efficient computing modules designed mainly for AI and edge computing. They enable artificial intelligence to be run directly on devices rather than in the cloud.
These AI computing platforms support accelerated GPU processing and are built specifically for high-performance parallel processing. In this way, they enable deep learning and can be integrated into compact embedded systems.
Jetson modules are ready to be installed into an end-user’s system with existing software. For evaluation and testing, a developer kit including all the required power supply, cables and software is readily available.
NVIDIA Jetson is used in many applications where real-time AI processing with low power consumption is needed, from drones and robots, traffic monitoring, and autonomous vehicles to industrial inspection and smart medical devices etc.
NVIDIA Jetson and high-bandwidth imaging needs
Many Jetson applications work with cameras and visual data processing (imaging) and modern imaging applications are pushing far more data than traditional embedded systems were ever designed to handle. Higher resolutions, faster frame rates, and multi-camera setups quickly saturate standard I/O paths, leaving CPUs overloaded just trying to keep up with raw video throughput.
This creates a fundamental bottleneck: the compute platform spends more time shuttling data than performing actual vision or AI processing. A Jetson Orin–based architecture paired with a high-performance frame grabber removes that bottleneck entirely.
Why combine Jetson Orin with a frame grabber?
Massive AI Compute Power
At the heart of the system, the NVIDIA Jetson Orin module can deliver up to 275 TOPS of AI performance. This allows developers to run advanced neural networks, accelerate image processing pipelines, and deploy multiple inference models simultaneously — all at the edge.
High-Bandwidth, Low Latency Imaging
CoaXPress or Camera Link frame grabbers provide the extremely fast data rates needed for industrial-grade cameras. With close to no latency, the system captures raw video streams and images at high speeds without overloading the CPU or dropping frames.
Sustained Performance under Load
Image frames are directly transferred into the GPU memory via DMA (Direct Memory Access). In this way, the data appears local to the GPU and Tensor cores, and image acquisition completely bypasses any CPU. This leads to higher sustained throughput, even during multi-camera and high-speed acquisition.
Guaranteed Frame Reliability
In industrial applications, missed frames can break an entire workflow. Hardware-accelerated capture ensures reliable, lossless acquisition, even when pushing the cameras to their limits.
Industrial-ready, Compact Design
The combined hardware fits into a rugged, small form factor enclosure suitable for harsh or space-constrained environments. A custom base board incorporating Active Silicon frame grabber technology can be designed for a standard Jetson module to connect to. Please contact Active Silicon for custom embedded solution enquiries.
Developing with NVIDIA Jetson and CoaXPress/Camera Link
The NVIDIA AGX Orin Developer Kit provides the PCI Express x16 connector for the frame grabber.
- Integrate Camera Link and CoaXPress cameras in compact Jetson systems.
- Easy integration of high-speed imaging – Jetson offers accelerated processing for imaging systems.
- Deep learning capabilities for vision applications.
- Processing of complex data on board.
- Build complex image processing and AI applications at the edge.
- Demos available with ActiveSDK.
FireBird frame grabbers from Active Silicon offer out-of-the-box compatibility with Jetson and relevant demos can be supplied on request. Once NVIDIA’s SDK is downloaded, our ActiveSDK can be installed and our frame grabbers can be operational within minutes.
System requirements
- NVIDIA Jetson module.
- NVIDIA JetPack SDK.
- FireBird frame grabber with Linux (ARM architecture support).
- ActiveSDK and FireBird runtime installer.
- PCI Express 3.0 x4 or x8 lane connector.
Following installation, Active Silicon offers unsurpassed after-sales support for all our products and can assist in getting the best performance for your vision system.
The JetPack SDK
JetPack is the official software stack that supports Jetson installation and features:
- Deep Learning tools: TensorRT, cuDNN, NVIDIA DIGITS™ Workflow
- Computer Vision tools: NVIDIA VisionWorks, OpenCV
- GPU Compute tools: NVIDIA CUDA, CUDA Libraries
- Multimedia tools: ISP Support, Camera imaging, Video CODEC
- ROS compatibility, OpenGL and further advanced developer tools
- More on components of the JetPack SDK on the NVIDIA website
Applications for Jetson and high-performance imaging
Jetson is bringing deep learning to a wide range of computer vision applications, both industrial and commercial. Its proficiency in allowing super-fast processing and AI deployment is accelerating the pace of change in many sectors. Two examples include:
Drones
Industrial inspection drones use Jetson technology to make better decisions in the air. Able to process information about their environment, flight paths can be better programmed to avoid obstacles, and defects can be detected, recorded and communicated faster than ever.
Robotics
The introduction of Jetson to factories and warehouses is aiding the spread of Industry 4.0 and smart work practices. Massive amounts of data can be processed and analyzed in little more than the blink of an eye, meaning that in-line inspection and predictive maintenance are increasingly accessible.
Compatible frame grabbers
All Active Silicon FireBird frame grabbers support NVIDIA’s Jetson. These include the following products:
- High-performance CoaXPress frame grabbers in single, dual, quad and octo configurations, including full-height and low-profile PC form factors, as well as CoaXPress over Fiber boards.
- Camera Link frame grabbers: Base, Medium, Full, 80-bit (Deca) in standard PC (full-height and low profile).
Custom development
Many developers enjoy the ease of design of using a standard development kit such as the Jetson Orin to build proof-of-concept designs, but stumble when deploying to mass market.
Active Silicon can help take a design from concept to final solution and beyond. Our Custom Design Services can take your choice of NVIDIA Jetson module, build a custom carrier board with your choice of I/O interfaces (including CoaXPress and Camera Link) to the constrained form factor you desire.
Active Silicon can also help with the assembly, testing, integration and lifecycle management of the final development, easing your path to market. For more information, please see our Custom Design Services page.