As robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles operate in increasingly dynamic environments, they can benefit from improved perception using artificial intelligence. Orbbec today announced the availability of its new Persee+ system, which adds onboard computing capability to its 3D camera. The company said the technology will help engineers, researchers, and hobbyists with AI applications.
“AI and machine learning applications have put increasing demands on both software and hardware,” said David Chen, co-founder and chief technology officer of Orbbec. “The Persee+ is the first 3D 'camera computer' to respond with an onboard neural processing capability.”
“Our new product is a huge innovation that will facilitate multiple uses in robotics, security systems, healthcare, and other fields,” he claimed.
Founded in 2013, Orbbec said it designs and manufactures affordable 3D cameras to help make intelligent systems more available. It has manufacturing across China and the U.S. Last year, the Troy, Mich.-based company said it was working on time-of-flight cameras using Microsoft Corp.'s Azure platform.
Persee+ includes numerous improvements
Orbbec said the Persee+ features a specialized hardware accelerator for AI and machine learning applications. That and other improvements to Persee, which was released in 2015, are intended to help users find new, advanced applications for 3D imaging, said the company.
An Amlogic A311D processor increases performance in Persee+, noted Orbbec. The smart vision system on a chip (SoC) unit includes four ARM A73 cores and two ARM A53 cores plus neural processing unit (NPU) capability for AI inference.
The system also includes Orbbec’s Astra+ structured light camera, with an RGB resolution up to 1,920 by 1,080 pixels at 30 frames per second (fps). The company said it has upgraded Wi-Fi to the latest standards and increased storage to 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC to better support user code. It has also added support for MicroSD storage.
Orbbec offers integration options
Orbbec said it has engineered Persee+ to accommodate a wide range of environmental and technical conditions. The 3D camera has a sensing range of 0.6 to 8 m (1.9 to 26.2 ft.) and can operate in temperatures from 0° to 40°C (32° to 104°F), while the computer supports both Android and Linux.
Persee+ also offers HDMI, Bluetooth 5.0, and RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity.
Orbbec offers Persee+ users receive a customized software development kit (SDK) to facilitate device integration. More information about the Persee+ campera-computer is available at the company's Web site.
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