Canonical Partners with Qualcomm to Deliver an Ubuntu Image for the Edge AI RB3 Gen 2 Vision Kit

Canonical is continuing to release optimized images of its Ubuntu Linux distribution targeting embedded platforms, this time in partnership with Qualcomm — delivering a beta version of Ubuntu 22.04 Long Term Support (LTS) targeting the Qualcomm RB3 Gen 2 Vision kit.

"With this public beta, developers using the Qualcomm RB3 Gen 2 Vision Kit powered by the QCS6490 processor will have a superior, out-the-box Ubuntu user experience that gives them faster development time, quicker time to market and better scaling for their AI [Artificial Intelligence] solutions," claims Qualcomm's Leendert van Doorn. "This public beta image is the first step in our roadmap that truly brings together Qualcomm processors and Ubuntu to give AI and IoT developers a competitive edge."

Qualcomm unveiled the RB3 Gen 2 Vision Kit back in April, promising a development platform powered by its QCS6490 system-on-chip (SoC) combining a Kryo 670 processor, with eight Arm CPU cores, with a sixth-generation Qualcomm AI Engine with Hexagon 770 tensor and scalar accelerators delivering up to 12 tera-operations per second (TOPS) of compute for on-device AI, an Adreno 643L graphics processor, and an Adreno 633 vision processing unit.

"Canonical is committed to making Ubuntu the easy, high-performance and trusted choice of OS [Operating System] across the widest range of devices, SoCs, and platforms possible," says Canonical's Cindy Goldberg of the company's plans. "The release of an Ubuntu 22.04 LTS server edition for Qualcomm IoT [Internet of Things] is the first step in our roadmap to fundamentally change the way enterprises deploy AI and IoT solutions at the edge using Qualcomm hardware and systems."

The beta image is now available to download from the Ubuntu website, alongside installation instructions; more information on the QCS6490 and RB3 Gen 2 Vision Kit is available on the Qualcomm website.