Manifold mini PC Powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 Processor is Designed for Drones

DJI is known for their high-end drones such as Phantom 3 quadcopter, but the company has now launched Manifold mini PC powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor and running Ubuntu 14.04 in order to allow developers run their own applications performing complex computing tasks and advanced image processing “on the fly”.

DJI Manifold specifications:

SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex-A15 processor @ up to 2.2 GHz with 192-core Kepler GPU
System Memory – 2GB DDR3L
Storage – 16GB eMMC 4.51 flash, micro SD slot
Video Output – mini HDMI port
Audio I/O – mini HDMI, combo audio jack for microphone and headphone
Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet port
USB – 2x USB 3.0 ports, 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB port (supports Force Recovery mode and Host mode) , and a non-standard USB 2.0 interface with the drone.
Camera – Camera In and Camera Out ports
Expansion
- Half-size mini PCIe slot
- 26-pin I/O expansion header with SPI, I2C
Debugging – UART interface
Misc – Power, reset, and recovery buttons
Power Supply – 14V-26V AC adapter
Power Consumption – 15W max.
Dimensions – 11 x 11 x 2.6 cm
Weight – > 200 grams

The company provides Ubuntu 14.04 LTS for the mini PC with support for CUDA, OpenCV, and ROS. There are three SDKs on the developer website: Mobile SDK, On-board SDK, and Guidance SDK for Windows, Linux, and Arduino, but it is unclear whether they are used directly by Manifold board. Once you’ve gone through the registration process, you can download Manifold’s user manual and quick start guide, as well as tarballs with the OS image and the kernel source code.

DJI Manifold is available now as a developer’s platform for $499, which will feel like pocket change once you include the $3,299 Matrice 100 quadcopter, and optionally a $999 Guidance visual sensing system. You can get all the details on DJI’s Manifold product page.

Via LinuxGizmos

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.