Luxonis Unveils Ultra-Compact DepthAI-Compatible 4k60 Computer Vision Module, MegaAI
Supporting 4k30 encode and 4k60 streaming from an on-board camera module, plus 4 TOPS of compute, the megaAI is small but mighty.
Computer vision startup Luxonis is preparing to launch another entry into its DepthAI family of development boards, this time an ultra-compact accelerated module with a 4k60 camera on-board: the megaAI.
Luxonis launched a crowdfunding campaign for the original DepthAI computer vision development board family last year, eventually raising over $40,500 on Crowd Supply. Now, it has unveiled the follow-up: an ultra-compact camera module with on-board acceleration
"MegaAI, the latest DepthAI-compatible spatial computing board, is a complete Computer Vision solution combining 4 Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS) of AI processing power and a beautiful 4k/60 camera for human/object tracking," the company explains of its latest creation. "A low power powerhouse, megaAI uses a single USB connection for data and power. It’s the biggest little thing in Computer Vision.
"We’ve engineered an entire AI/CV pipeline into a tiny, embeddable form factor so that you don’t have to — just drop megaAI into your own project to immediately expand it’s AI processing capability. Out of the box, megaAI already contains functional demos/neural nets for: object / person detection + tracking, emotion recognition, age detection, and more, in a powerful python interface leveraging the most popular computer vision library in the world: OpenCV."
The compact module is powered by Intel's Myriad X neural processing unit (NPU), offering 4 TOPS of compute performance alongside 12 megapixel hardware JPEG encoding and hardware H.264 and H.265 encoding at up to 4k resolution and 30 frames per second — the 60 frames per second promised in the company's headline specifications being available through streaming rather than on-device encoding.
A USB 3.0 Type-C connector is used for both power and data, making it compatible with a range of host devices including the Raspberry Pi — but the company is keen to point out the board can also operate entirely independently, if required.
Luxonis has yet to confirm pricing, though claims the module will be sold at "an incredible price point compared to products with similar specs;" more information is available on the Crowd Supply campaign page.