whatro.bot

Compute

The computer on board a robot — single-board computers, edge-AI modules and robot controllers that run the control loops, the sensor drivers and the neural networks.

  • robot controller
  • SBC
  • edge AI module
  • compute module

What it is

Robot compute is processing hardware sold to live inside a robot: a single-board computer such as the Raspberry Pi 5, an edge-AI module with a GPU such as the NVIDIA Jetson line, or a boxed version of one, as the Seeed Studio reComputer J4012 packages a Jetson. The trade is watts against intelligence. A board with a neural accelerator runs vision models on the robot, but draws more power, needs cooling and costs more; a plain SBC is enough to read sensors, drive motors and talk to a bigger computer elsewhere.

You will see it called a robot controller, SBC, edge AI module or compute module. In this taxonomy it sits under Component, beside sensors and actuators. The rule is processing hardware without sensing; a laptop is not a robot component at all.

Where they are used

  • Small research arms and LeRobot setups — an entry-level Jetson such as the Orin Nano Super runs the policy next to the arm.
  • Mobile robots and quadrupeds — a boxed Jetson or a Raspberry Pi handles navigation; the GPU is needed once cameras feed learned perception.
  • Humanoids — top-end modules such as the Jetson AGX Thor, because several cameras, a lidar and a large model must run together on battery.
  • Education and hobby — a Raspberry Pi is the usual first robot brain.

What to compare

Attribute Why it matters In this catalogue
ai_tops Zero means sensors and control only; vision models need the upper range 67 TOPS (NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit) – 100 TOPS (Seeed Studio reComputer J4012)
voltage USB-C at 5 V is simple; bigger modules want DC from the robot's battery 5 V (Raspberry Pi 5) – 12 V (Seeed Studio reComputer J4012)
interface Ethernet, USB 3, CSI camera connectors and CAN decide what plugs in directly ethernet (3), usb (3), can (2)
sdk JetPack, ROS 2 images and vendor tooling; check the OS the robot's own stack expects python (2), cpp (2), ros2 (1)
mass A developer kit with a heatsink is heavier than it looks 1.856 kg (NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor Developer Kit)
ip_rating Bare boards need an enclosure; boxed units may come sealed and fanless not yet in the catalogue

Price picture (observed 2026-10-28)

  • Professional / industrial: USD 399 (NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit) to USD 6,629 (NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor Developer Kit).
  • Research: EUR 159 (Raspberry Pi 5).

The Jetson AGX Thor price shown is a reseller listing well above NVIDIA's list price; and Thor's headline compute figure is FP4 TFLOPS, not the INT8 TOPS used for the Orin parts, so it is not listed in the table.

Prices are the latest observation per product, in the seller's currency; see each record's offers for history and VAT notes.

In the catalogue

Professional / industrial: NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor Developer Kit · NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit · Seeed Studio reComputer J4012
Research: Raspberry Pi 5

Edge cases

  • Boxed module plus carrier (reComputer J4012): still compute, not structure.
  • Controller cabinet shipped with an industrial arm: part of the arm.
  • Camera with onboard AI: a sensor.
  • Microcontroller boards: compute at the low end; ai_tops is zero.
  • Laptops and desktop GPUs: not robot components, even when tethered to one.

Related

Component · End-effector · Actuator · Sensor · Power · Structure · Teleoperation · Kit

Rule of membership

Processing hardware without sensing.

Category cp-4 in the whatrobot taxonomy.