Minimal Hardware Requirements for Robotics Development with GR00T Framework

Issue Overview

A user is interested in getting started with robotics and humanoid development using NVIDIA Dev Kits, specifically the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Development Kit. They want to know if this kit will be suitable for working with the GR00T framework and if NVIDIA will provide minimal support for experimenting with GR00T on this hardware. The user acknowledges their limited understanding of the GR00T framework but expresses their intention to eventually work on it using the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit.

Possible Causes

The main concern raised in the forum discussion is whether the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Development Kit has sufficient hardware specifications to support the GR00T framework. The user is unsure if the dev kit’s capabilities align with the requirements of GR00T, which could potentially lead to compatibility issues or limited functionality.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

Based on the reply from an NVIDIA representative, the following information and recommendations are provided:

1. Project GR00T is currently under research and development (R&D), and the production framework for it is not yet defined.

2. GR00T is a foundational model for embodied agents targeting Thor, and the initial assessment suggests that 8GB of memory, which is the specification of the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit, may be too low for GR00T.

3. Despite the potential memory limitation, the user is encouraged to proceed with getting started on experimenting with generative AI at the edge, local LLMs (Large Language Models), and multimodal agents using the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit.

4. Some smaller models, such as SLMs (Smaller Language Models), are expected to fit on the Orin Nano.

5. The user is advised to explore the resources available at the NVIDIA Jetson AI Lab website (https://jetson-ai-lab.com) for showcasing generative AI projects that run on Jetson.

6. As GR00T is still under development, it is recommended to focus on other aspects of AI and robotics that can be accomplished with the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit while keeping an eye out for future updates and requirements related to GR00T.

7. If the user encounters any specific issues or has further questions while working with the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit, they can reach out to the NVIDIA community forums or support channels for assistance.

It’s worth emphasizing that as GR00T evolves and more information becomes available, the hardware requirements and compatibility with the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit may change. The user should stay updated with the latest developments and announcements from NVIDIA regarding GR00T and its production framework.