As the first embedded computer designed to process deep neural networks, the new NVIDIA Jetson TX1 is set to enable a new wave of smart devices. Drones will evolve beyond flying by remote control to navigating through a forest for search and rescue. Security surveillance systems will be able to identify suspicious activities, not just scan crowds. Robots will be able to perform tasks customised to individuals’ habits.

That’s what the credit-card sized module can do. It can harness the power of machine learning to enable a new generation of smart, autonomous machines that can learn.

Deep neural networks are computer software that can learn to recognise objects or interpret information. This new approach to program computers is called machine learning and can be used to perform complex tasks such as recognising images, processing conversational speech, or analysing a room full of furniture and finding a path to navigate across it. Machine learning is a groundbreaking technology that will give autonomous devices a giant leap in capability.