Edge AI Computers – based on NVIDIA®Jetson Orin™ NX

NVIDIA Jetson is a powerful embedded AI platform designed for high-performance edge AI computers. It enables real-time AI inference directly on the device, powering applications such as industrial robots, autonomous machines, mobile robots (AMRs), drones, smart cameras, and industrial IoT systems. By processing vision, speech, and AI models locally at the edge instead of in the cloud, NVIDIA Jetson delivers low latency, high reliability, and enhanced data security. This makes it ideal for demanding environments and mission-critical use cases in industrial automation, robotics, transportation, railway systems, automotive applications, and smart infrastructure.

NVIDIA Jetson SoMs, including NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX, are the backbone for high-performance edge AI computers used in demanding industrial environments. They are ideally suited for applications such as industrial and mobile robotics, autonomous machines, optical inspection systems, traffic and rail analytics, and advanced industrial automation. Powered by GPU acceleration and the NVIDIA JetPack software stack, developers can deploy computer vision, multimodal AI, and real-time inference in compact, energy-efficient systems that deliver reliable performance at the edge.

NVIDIA Jetson platforms and x86-based edge systems address different requirements at the edge. Jetson systems are purpose-built for GPU-accelerated AI processing, making them highly efficient for workloads such as computer vision, deep learning inference, and robotics. With their integrated CUDA-enabled GPU architecture, Jetson-based Edge AI Computers achieve exceptional AI performance per watt, which is critical for compact, thermally constrained, or mobile deployments.

In contrast, x86 edge systems are designed around strong general-purpose CPU performance and a mature software ecosystem. This makes them well suited for industrial control tasks, legacy application support, protocol processing, PLC-like real-time workloads, and use cases that demand deterministic behavior or high single-core CPU performance. Additionally, x86 platforms offer long-term form, fit, and function stability, allowing system upgrades without major hardware redesign.

In summary, Jetson is typically the preferred choice for AI-driven, GPU-intensive edge applications, while x86 remains the better option for CPU-centric workloads, legacy environments, and systems requiring established industrial standards. Many projects evaluate both architectures, and Syslogic provides industrial-grade solutions for Jetson and x86, enabling customers to select the optimal platform based on performance targets, environmental conditions, and lifecycle requirements.

Jetson Linux (Linux for Tegra, L4T) is the operating system running on embedded PCs and Edge AI Computers based on NVIDIA® Jetson™ compute modules, including NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX. It is a customized, long-term supported Linux operating system derived from Ubuntu, optimized for NVIDIA hardware acceleration. Jetson Linux provides full access to GPU, CPU, and AI accelerators and forms the foundation for deploying computer vision, AI inference, and real-time workloads in industrial, robotics, transportation, and automation applications.

The NVIDIA Jetson lineup includes multiple compute modules designed to cover a wide range of edge AI performance requirements. The modules differ in terms of AI compute capability, power envelope, memory configuration, and available interfaces, allowing system designers to scale from compact, low-power devices to high-end industrial AI systems.

Jetson Orin Nano targets entry-level edge AI applications where space and power efficiency are critical. It is well suited for compact devices performing basic vision and inference tasks.

Jetson Orin NX occupies the mid-performance segment, delivering significantly higher compute density in a small form factor. This makes it a strong choice for mobile robots, autonomous platforms, and industrial edge AI computers that require a balance of performance and efficiency.

Jetson AGX Orin represents the high-end of the Jetson family, offering maximum AI throughput for advanced robotics, multimodal AI processing, and compute-intensive real-time workloads. In real-world deployments, the choice of a Jetson module is driven by factors such as required AI TOPS, thermal constraints, memory capacity, and the overall complexity of the AI models and workloads.