JetBot

Course outline

01 Hardware setup (4 class periods)

Matching materials: Playing with JetBot AI user manual, pp. 1–28

02 System software setup (1 class period)

Matching materials: Playing with JetBot AI user manual, pp. 29–35

03 Remote control operation and use (1 class period)

Matching materials: Playing with JetBot AI user manual, pp. 36–38

04 Camera calibration and use (1 class period)

Matching materials: Playing with JetBot AI user manual, pp. 39–42

05 Lane following operation and use (2 class periods)

Matching materials: Playing with JetBot AI user manual, pp. 43–57

The course outline is based on the CIRCUS Pi teaching manual. Class period counts are estimates and can be adjusted to fit your class.

Hardware specifications

Single-board computer	NVIDIA® Jetson Nano™ 2GB Developer Kit
Camera	‧ Resolution: 3280 x 2464 ‧ CMOS: 1/4 in. ‧ Aperture (F): 2.35 ‧ Focal length: 3.15 mm ‧ FOV: 160 degrees ‧ Distortion: < 14.3%
Motor	TT gear motor (gear ratio 1:120)
Wheels	65 mm
Chassis material	3 mm acrylic
USB Wi-Fi adapter	Wireless adapter supporting 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands
Power	Dual-port 5 V / 3 A power bank
Car dimensions	Approx. 135 x 125 x 113 mm (W x D x H)
Carrying case dimensions	Approx. 185 x 175 x 180 mm (W x D x H)

Features

• Uses the NVIDIA Jetson Nano 2GB Developer Kit.
• Simplified structure for easy assembly.
• Includes a wireless adapter that supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
• 8-megapixel, 160-degree camera module.
• Adjustable camera angle.
• Motors ship with wires soldered on and protected by heat-shrink tubing.
• Ships as a kit that students assemble themselves.
• Includes detailed technical articles to support learning.

JetBot is an open-source AI robot platform that NVIDIA built on its own AI development kit, the Jetson Nano. The Jetson Nano brings new capability to compact, powerful AI edge devices and embedded IoT.

A JetBot powered by the Jetson Nano can drive using image recognition. Unlike an ordinary single-board computer, its GPU speeds up AI model inference and reduces latency for real-time recognition.

With the release of the new Jetson Nano 2GB, iCShop built a lightweight version of the JetBot. Although it is lighter, its computing performance is unchanged and is sufficient to run the full JetBot project. To suit the Jetson Nano 2GB, we also adjusted the accessories, for example replacing the original M.2 wireless card with a USB adapter. Based on our past teaching experience, we removed unnecessary parts, changed the gear ratio of the gear motors, and lowered the price. It is a teaching kit well suited to learners starting out with JetBot projects.

Related teaching resources

Teacher Chen Yingru—Andrew’s Copy Land: JetBot Robot Teaching Notes

Video introduction

More videos

Playing with JetBot AI: Environment Setup / Coding (0:41)

Playing with JetBot AI: Graphical Interface Control (0:37)