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Kris Kersey is an embedded software package developer with more than 20 a long time of experience, an academic YouTuber with 30,000+ subscribers, and a lifelong lover of comics and cosplay.
These interests and know-how came together in his first-at any time task utilizing the NVIDIA Jetson system for edge AI and robotics when he developed a completely practical superhero helmet as portrayed in 1 of his most loved Marvel Comic films, Iron Male.
The 3D-printed helmet arrives entire with personal computer-eyesight capabilities in a heads-up screen (HUD) that offers information where ever the user’s searching, just like in the film.
The NVIDIA Jetson platform procedures facts from two cameras — 1 by every single eye slot — that see what the helmet’s wearer is looking at. The HUD then presents data including the recent temperature, humidity, altitude and GPS area. It can also classify what’s in the user’s look at dependent on deep neural networks for item detection.
To let other folks join in on the exciting, Kersey shared his whole workflow on his well known YouTube channel, Kersey Fabrications.
Superhero movies and science fiction remind Kersey that reducing-edge technology demands collaboration throughout disciplines, he explained.
“Often, as with this venture, artists and storytellers use their imaginations to arrive up with fantastic tips — then, it’s up to scientists and engineers to make them genuine,” the developer stated.
About the Maker
Kersey, who researched personal computer science at Southern Polytechnic Point out University — now part of Kennesaw State University — in Georgia, has wide working experience functioning with embedded microprocessors and architectures. He specializes in the Linux operating technique, which is appropriate with the NVIDIA Jetson system.
“Writing program on the Jetson system did not demand that I discover a new programming language or operating program, which produced it quite simple for me,” the maker said.
By working day, he’s a software engineer at an Atlanta-based startup. By evening, he’s functioning on assignments in his particular makerspace.
“I’ve in no way applied my garage for cars and trucks,” he explained.
Rather, it’s full of resources, boards and other machines that permit his marvelous tasks.
Kersey emphasized that what’s vital to him most of all, on the other hand, is his spouse and children, with whom he likes to participate in board online games, watch flicks and go on hikes.
His Inspiration
Kersey’s fascination with know-how stemmed from his childhood. His mom was a teacher focused on computer-aided drafting and mechanical design and style.
“From a extremely early age, I could tinker with computer systems that she had obtain to, which always fascinated me,” he mentioned. “My cousin also at the time gave me an previous 8-little bit computer system, but there was not significantly I could do with it, so I bear in mind pulling out the manual and looking through the full matter — that taught me basic programming.”
Extra not long ago, Kersey received into 3D printing whilst encouraging his son with a undertaking for Science Olympiad.
“From that instant on, I got genuinely into 3D printing as a passion — my son hardly ever truly took to it a whole large amount,” he mused.
In 2018, Kersey created his YouTube channel with a focus on 3D printing as a way to delve deeper into the maker local community when educating other people what he’s realized alongside the way.
A Jetson-Powered Superhero Undertaking
Kersey’s 3D-printed, completely purposeful, wireless Iron Person helmet — which he even sanded and painted himself — could be straight out of the iconic films.
The prototype utilised the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX developer package as the core powering its HUD.
“For this entire working experience to truly feel as wonderful as Iron Man’s tech, it has to be actual time, minimal latency, large resolution and substantial frame level,” Kersey explained. “It also needs to display a ton of information on display, which involves a effective graphics processor — that’s why I chose the Jetson system.”
Jetson developer kits are geared up with a impressive, onboard NVIDIA GPU and AI capabilities to supercharge embedded purposes.
Kersey also tapped the NVIDIA TensorRT software development package to allow substantial-overall performance deep-studying inference with minimal latency and high throughput for the venture.
For the subsequent generation of the helmet’s HUD — a undertaking that is “not finished till it is concluded,” according to the maker — Kersey used the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano developer kit. Launched in September, the kit has set a new regular for creating entry-stage AI-run robots, smart cameras and extra.
It only took Kersey two several hours to get from opening the Orin Nano box to acquiring the software package deployed and working, he reported.
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He’s now hunting to enhance the job with the Jetson Orin NX 16GB method-on-module, as effectively as build a whole match further than the headgear, starting up with prototype aluminum repulsors.
And the developer will before long make the project’s code open up source, so other individuals can effortlessly change by themselves into superheroes, much too.
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Kersey ideas to have on the upgraded superhero gear at Dragon Con — the world’s greatest multimedia, common tradition conference — using location in August. As well as, at this month’s MomoCon in Atlanta, he’ll existing on a panel titled Making It Genuine: Higher Tech in Cosplay.
Asked if Iron Guy is his preferred superhero, Kersey stated with a smile: “He is ideal now.”
Look at out Kersey Fabrications on YouTube and master much more about the NVIDIA Jetson system.