Meet the Maker: Software Engineer Ramps Up NVIDIA Jetson to Build Self-Driving Skate Park

Kirk Kaiser grew up a fan of the online game Paperboy, the place gamers act as cyclists delivering newspapers whereas encountering varied obstacles, like ramps that seem in the midst of the road.

This was the inspiration behind the software program developer’s newest challenge utilizing the NVIDIA Jetson platform for edge AI and robotics — a self-driving skate ramp.

“I needed the absurdity and enjoyable of Paperboy to be part of my life,” mentioned Kaiser, an avid skateboarder primarily based in Naples, Fla. “I used to be boarding in the future with my canine Benji working beside me and I used to be like, ‘What if I had ramps that got here with me?’”

He’s now constructing simply that — expertise that might result in a transportable, autonomous skate park.

Up to now, he’s developed an electrical platform that may elevate a ramp and make it degree with the bottom. It’s steerable utilizing a PS4 controller linked through Bluetooth to an NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Package.

Now, he’s accumulating knowledge to coach AI fashions that’ll allow the platform to acknowledge streets and obstacles — and ultimately grow to be absolutely autonomous — with the assistance of the brand new NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Developer Package.

It’s a challenge for when he isn’t engrossed in his work as the top of developer relations at Gitpod, a startup that gives cloud growth environments for software program makers.

In regards to the Maker

Kaiser discovered software program engineering at a younger age and obtained a scholarship to a prestigious highschool specialised in tech. There, he honed his programming abilities earlier than taking time in his early maturity to see and expertise the world in fully other ways.

At 18 years outdated, he packed a bag and lived for a yr in a wildlife refuge in Costa Rica, the place he labored on a permaculture farm, rising meals and accumulating rainwater to drink. Relocating to Vermont, Kaiser then spent a yr farming with a Zen Buddhist earlier than mountain climbing 1,000 miles of Appalachian Path, passing by means of 4 states.

Upon leaving the path, Kirk launched a journey web site, bought his first software program job at a cosmetics firm, and labored in R&D for a lighting firm earlier than rekindling his ardour for software program engineering as a manner to supply for his household — together with his now four-year-old son.

His Inspiration

Earlier than all of this, skateboarding was Kaiser’s best love. “I simply needed to skateboard as a child,” he mentioned. “I needed to maximise the period of time I may spend skateboarding.”

He constructed his personal skate parks rising up, which made him acquainted with the mechanics of constructing a wood ramp — information that got here in useful when constructing the inspiration of his newest Jetson-powered challenge.

And to encourage others to embark on creative tasks with expertise, Kaiser authored Make Artwork With Python, a step-by-step introduction to programming for inventive folks.

He was spurred to jot down the ebook whereas speaking to highschool college students at a biohacker bootcamp in New York.

“What the excessive schoolers mentioned blew my thoughts — they principally thought that software program engineering was for overachievers,” he mentioned. “So I needed to jot down a ebook that might persuade youthful those who programming is basically a platform for creating worlds, and it may be for anybody, which is a extremely thrilling factor.”

His Favourite Jetson Tasks

Kaiser kicked off his self-driving skate park challenge 18 months in the past, intending to begin with a ramp in regards to the dimension of a golf cart. {The electrical} elements wanted to steer it had been prohibitively costly, nonetheless, and getting such a big platform to interrupt alongside two axes of rotation was extremely difficult, he mentioned.

Rescaling the challenge to the dimensions of a skateboard itself, Kaiser purchased a welder and a steel brake, discovered learn how to use each instruments for the primary time, and constructed a platform that may increase and decrease, in addition to settle for any sort of ramp.

It’s absolutely steerable alongside each axes because of the sting capabilities of NVIDIA Jetson. And the developer’s now coaching the platform’s self-driving options utilizing Robotic Working System repositories accessible by means of the NVIDIA Isaac platform for accelerated, AI-powered robotics.

“Within the machine studying area, NVIDIA is admittedly the one present on the town,” he mentioned. “The Jetson platform is the business commonplace for edge AI, and its compatibility with different growth platforms and the onboard GPU are big pluses.”

Kaiser dives deeper into the technical elements of his skate ramp challenge on his weblog.

The developer’s different favourite tasks utilizing the NVIDIA Jetson platform embrace coaching an AI mannequin for turning lights on and off utilizing a dab and T-pose, in addition to creating an AI-powered digital camera for bird-watching.

“The acceleration of smaller-scale robotics is turning into extra accessible to everybody,” Kaiser mentioned, “which is admittedly thrilling as a result of I believe robotics is so rattling cool.”

Go alongside for the experience by maintaining with Kaiser’s work, and study extra in regards to the NVIDIA Jetson platform.