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The sensation of CES 2023, the Ella smart stroller, presented by Canadian start-up Glüxkind, is powered by Nvidia Jetson Edge AI.

There is a rock-a-baby feature and a push and brake assist allowing a parent or guardian to hold the occupant while the pram navigates itself.

Just as modern cars are equipped with systems that ensure they do no roll backward when they stop on a hill, Glüxkind founder and CEO, Kevin Huang envisioned a pram (or stroller) that would do the same.

Glüxkind is a member of Nvidia Inception, a free program designed to help start ups evolve faster by providing access to technology and Nvidia experts, as well as opportunities to connect with venture capitalists and co-marketing support.

The Ella pram is powered by Nvidia’s Jetson edge AI platform to power the AI stack.

Jetson enables the pram / stroller to use computer vision to map its surroundings, using Jetson’s GPU and CPU to process and execute pathfinding.

This means that when the child is not in the stroller, parents can activate Ella’s intelligent hands-free strolling mode. It is able to follow someone holding the child, so parents do not have to negotiate their precious bundle while steering the stroller. It also ensure that it does not roll away when the carer’s releases their grip. At the same time the intelligent pram is not designed to operate independently. It has adaptive push and brake assistance for effortless walking no matter the terrain. It can navigate uphill, downhill or even when fully loaded with shopping or toys and baby’s changing equipment.

A Rock-My-Baby mode helps send infants to sleep and there is also built-in white noise playback.

“We’re trying to make it so the technology we’re building is augmentative to the parents’ experience to make parenting easier and safer,” Huang said.

Glüxkind was named a CES 2023 Innovation Awards Honoree for the AI-powered Ella smart stroller. 

http://www.nvidia.com

The burgeoning AI and AIoT markets could result in 29 billion IoT edge devices by 2030, reports Innodisk. Such a large volume of edge devices means it is necessary to consider not only remote management, but also how to deploy devices more effectively in order to efficiently implement applications. In response, the company has introduced the InnoEx Virtual I/O expansion module, which helps global industries efficiently deploy various AI smart applications through the integration of software and hardware using virtual I/O expansion technology. 

The integration helps enterprises effectively control computer equipment budgets and solve the issue of complicated circuits that cannot be cut and arranged, said Innodisk. It can be extended through virtual I/O technology using only a single computer system and a single network line, and can be connected with the InnoEx modules in series to flexibly expand the number and distance of terminal devices.

Miniaturisation in the computer world means the space for I/O expansion slots has been greatly reduced. If integrators want to increase the number of I/O expansion devices, they often have to redesign the motherboard, which can be time-consuming and not always economical. Embedded expansion cards by Innodisk can solve these issues but not all motherboards can use expansion cards. Innodisk has therefore launched InnoEx virtual I/O expansion. It allows for a single route to connect a single computer system and functions like a multi-function transfer port, effectively expanding the number and distance of external devices through virtual signals. 

Benefits include high system compatibility and it does not occupy the I/O slots on the original computer system. Another advantage is that it does not require changes to the mechanism design. It can also be integrated into the existing network architecture to achieve borderless I/O expansion through networking.

The InnoEx virtual I/O expansion module supports interfaces such as HDMI and USB.  It is suitable for applications such as smart retail, smart image recognition, digital display, and AGV smart handling. It can also realise various industrial applications and advanced AI intelligent applications.

Innodisk has also announced that it will launch Serial and CANbus versions in the second quarter of 2023.

https://www.innodisk.com