GAP9Shield: A 150GOPS AI-capable Ultra-low Power Module for Vision and Ranging Applications on Nano-drones
<|reference_start|>GAP9Shield: A 150GOPS AI-capable Ultra-low Power Module for Vision and Ranging Applications on Nano-drones: The evolution of AI and digital signal processing technologies, combined with affordable energy-efficient processors, has propelled the development of both hardware and software for drone applications. Nano-drones, which fit into the palm of the hand, are suitable for indoor environments and safe for human interaction; however, they often fail to deliver the required performance for complex tasks due to the lack of hardware providing sufficient sensing and computing performance. Addressing this gap, we present the GAP9Shield, a nano-drone-compatible module powered by the GAP9, a 150GOPS-capable SoC. The system also includes a 5MP OV5647 camera for high-definition imaging, a WiFi-BLE NINA module, and a 5D VL53L1-based ranging subsystem, which enhances obstacle avoidance capabilities. In comparison with similarly targeted state-of-the-art systems, GAP9Shield provides a 20% higher sample rate (RGB images) while offering a 20% weight reduction. In this paper, we also highlight the energy efficiency and processing power capabilities of GAP9 for object detection (YOLO), localization, and mapping, which can run within a power envelope of below 100 mW and at low latency (as 17 ms for object detection), highlighting the transformative potential of GAP9 for the new generation of nano-drone applications.<|reference_end|>
@article{müller2024gap9shield:,
    title={GAP9Shield: A 150GOPS AI-capable Ultra-low Power Module for Vision and
  Ranging Applications on Nano-drones},
    author={Hanna M"uller, Victor Kartsch, Luca Benini},
    journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.13706},
    year={2024},
    archivePrefix={arXiv},
    eprint={2407.13706},
    primaryClass={cs.RO cs.CV eess.SP}
}