Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Meet the Maker: Developer Taps NVIDIA Jetson as Force Behind AI-Powered Pit Droid

03/08/2023

Goran Vuksic is the brain behind a project to build a real-world pit droid, a type of Star Wars bot that repairs and maintains podracers which zoom across the much-loved film series.

The edge AI Jedi used an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit as the brain of the droid itself. The devkit enables the bot, which is a little less than four feet tall and has a simple webcam for eyes, to identify and move its head toward objects.

Vuksic - originally from Croatia and now based in Malm , Sweden - recently traveled with the pit droid across Belgium and the Netherlands to several tech conferences. He presented to hundreds of people on computer vision and AI, using the droid as an engaging real-world demo.

The pit droid's first look at the world. A self-described Star Wars fanatic, he's upgrading the droid's capabilities in his free time, when not engrossed in his work as an engineering manager at a Copenhagen-based company. He's also co-founder and chief technology officer of syntheticAIdata, a member of the NVIDIA Inception program for cutting-edge startups.

The company, which creates vision AI models with cost-effective synthetic data, uses a connector to the NVIDIA Omniverse platform for building and operating 3D tools and applications.

About the Maker Named a Jetson AI Specialist by NVIDIA and an AI Most Valuable Professional by Microsoft, Vuksic got started with artificial intelligence and IT about a decade ago when working for a startup that classified tattoos with vision AI.

Since then, he's worked as an engineering and technical manager, among other roles, developing IT strategies and solutions for various companies.

Robotics has always interested him, as he was a huge sci-fi fan growing up.

Watching Star Wars and other films, I imagined how robots might be able to see and do stuff in the real world, said Vuksic, also a member of the NVIDIA Developer Program.

Now, he's enabling just that with the pit droid project powered by the NVIDIA Jetson platform, which the developer has used since the launch of its first product nearly a decade ago.

Vuksic reads to the pit droid. Apart from tinkering with computers and bots, Vuksic enjoys playing the bass guitar in a band with his friends.

His Inspiration Vuksic built the pit droid for both fun and educational purposes.

As a frequent speaker at tech conferences, he takes the pit droid on stage to engage with his audience, demonstrate how it works and inspire others to build something similar, he said.

Vuksic, his startup co-founder Sherry List and the pit droid present at the Techorama conference in Antwerp, Belgium. We live in a connected world - all the things around us are exchanging data and becoming more and more automated, he added. I think this is super exciting, and we'll likely have even more robots to help humans with tasks.

Using the NVIDIA Jetson platform, Vuksic is at the forefront of robotics innovation, along with an ecosystem of developers using edge AI.

His Jetson Project Vuksic's pit droid project, which took him four months, began with 3D printing its body parts and putting them all together.

He then equipped the bot with the Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit as the brain in its head, which can move in all directions thanks to two motors.

Vuksic places an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit in the pit droid's head. The Jetson Orin Nano enables real-time processing of the camera feed. It's truly, truly amazing to have this processing power in such a small box that fits in the droid's head, said Vuksic.

He also uses Microsoft Azure to process the data in the cloud for object-detection training.

My favorite part of the project was definitely connecting it to the Jetson Orin Nano, which made it easy to run the AI and make the droid move according to what it sees, said Vuksic, who wrote a step-by-step technical guide to building the bot, so others can try it themselves.

The most challenging part was traveling with the droid - there was a bit of explanation necessary when I was passing security and opened my bag which contained the robot in parts, the developer mused. I said, This is just my big toy!'

Learn more about the NVIDIA Jetson platform.
LINK: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2023/08/03/goran-vuksic-pit-droid/...
See more stories from nvidia

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

11/05/2026

Ross Production Services 48-Foot HyperMax-1 Truck Quickly in Demand

New production unit features not only wealth of Ross gear but also Sony cameras, Canon lenses, and a Calrec Argo S audio board...

11/05/2026

Solid State Logic Launches TCA Tour Portable Audio Production System

Solid State Logic (SSL) has announced TCA Tour, a portable fly-away audio production system built from System T components for broadcast, touring, and live prod...

11/05/2026

Riedel Communications Named Official Connectivity Integration Provider for Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Riedel Communications has announced it will serve as Official Connectivity Integ...

11/05/2026

G&D and NETGEAR AV Launch KVM-over-IP Plugin for Automated Network Configuration

Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and NETGEAR AV have announced a plugin that automates network configuration for G&D KVM-over-IP deployments on NETGEAR AV Line infra...

11/05/2026

The Famous Group and Elite Edge Announce Unified Ownership

The Famous Group (TFG) and Elite Edge, a production studio specializing in live-action production, show opens, set design, and fabrication for sports and live e...

11/05/2026

SVG All-Stars: Odair Auger, Tech Project Manager, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises

The native of S o Paulo, Brazil, will play a crucial role in the broadcaster'...

11/05/2026

Cobalt Digital to Showcase IPMX/ST 2110 Ecosystem at BroadcastAsia 2026

Cobalt Digital will exhibit its IPMX/ST 2110 product lineup at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D2-4), anchored by the COBALT blueCORE family of standalone signal pro...

11/05/2026

Interra Systems to Demonstrate QC, Monitoring, and Captioning Solutions at BroadcastAsia 2026

Interra Systems will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5C1-10), demonstrating...

11/05/2026

T-Mobile Deploys 5G and AI Tools Across 2026 PGA Championship

T-Mobile is serving as a technology partner for the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, deploying 5G connectivity and ...

11/05/2026

Vizrt Named Official Technical Supplier of Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Vizrt has announced it has been named an Official Technical Supplier of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, in partnership with host broadcaster ORF. The 70th edi...

11/05/2026

WNBA and AWS Announce Multi-Year Partnership

The WNBA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced a multi-year partnership making AWS the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the WNBA. AWS is also joini...

11/05/2026

NAB 2026: kronehit Awards Lawo and SLG Broadcast Contract for Full Studio Modernization

Austrian private broadcaster kronehit publicly awarded SLG Broadcast AG and Lawo...

11/05/2026

Behind The Mic: PGA Championship Changing Weekday Announcer Lineup for 2026 Tournament

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

11/05/2026

Eurovision at 70: The Biggest Hits, Artists, and Trends From the Iconic Song Competition

As Eurovision fans gear up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic song ...

11/05/2026

Pelo Spotify, artistas brasileiros geraram aproximadamente R$ 2 bilhes em royalties em 2025

Pela primeira vez na hist ria, o Brasil figura entre os oito maiores mercados de...

11/05/2026

Bastl Instruments showcase the Kalimba

New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance Bastl Instruments have announced the Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modellin...

11/05/2026

1010music release the blackbox 2

Compact sampling workstation gains new features 1010music have announced the blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWl...

11/05/2026

KOMA Elektronik Monoplex Eurorack sequencer

Performance-focused sequencer with microtonal control Berlin-based KOMA Elektronik have announced Monoplex, a new 42HP Eurorack sequencer designed for hands...

11/05/2026

IK Multimedia launch the Tonex One+

Boasts wireless control from mobile devices The latest iteration of IK Multimedia's compact amp and effects modelling pedal expands on the capabilities ...

11/05/2026

Transfigured Orchestra Vol 3: Cinema Brass from Sonora Cinematic

Spans traditional orchestral and experimental sounds Sonora Cinematic have recently released the third instalment in their Transfigured Orchestra series, de...

11/05/2026

SUPERBOOTH 2026 Video Show Reports

Our exhibition coverage Watch all our SUPERBOOTH 2026 video coverage in one place. Check back to this page regularly as we will be updating with more video ...

11/05/2026

You're not meant to look at an Eclipse, but you won't be able to take your eyes off Delta's Eurovision staging

You're not meant to look at an Eclipse, but you won't be able to take yo...

11/05/2026

L3Harris Reaches Over 50% in FAA Telecommunications Modernization

L3Harris has completed more than 50% of a nationwide effort to rebuild the invisible backbone of America's airspace....

11/05/2026

aconnic presents at Equity Forum German Spring Conference 2026, Frankfurt to engage with investors and analysts

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is participating in the Equity Forum Ge...

11/05/2026

CBS Sacramento Debuts New AR/VR Studio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Gray Media Advances James Fitch to Senior VP, News Services

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Smarter Monetization Stronger Retention and PurposeDriven...

As Asia Pacific's streaming market continues to evolve, operators across the region are rebalancing their strategies and shifting their focus from subscribe...

11/05/2026

QuickLink to Highlight Latest StudioEdge Models StudioPr...

LONDON, MAY 11, 2026 QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will showcase its latest innovat...

11/05/2026

Cobalt Digitals BroadcastAsia Line up Highlights Flexible...

Cobalt Digital's BroadcastAsia Line-up Highlights Flexible End-to-End IPMX/ST 2110 Ecosystem Award-winning blueCORE standalone signal processors at the he...

11/05/2026

Encompass and VideoMagic Launch Altitude Intelligence to...

Encompass Digital Media, in partnership with VideoMagic International, announced at NAB 2026 the launch of Altitude Intelligence, an AI-powered platform designe...

11/05/2026

Louis Libin Preps for the World Cup's Spectrum Crunch

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Report: Broadcast Employment Hard Hit by AI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Alfalite installs 150 LED panels in Torre Iberdrola audit...

Alfalite, the only European manufacturer of LED screens, has completed a major new corporate installation in Spain with the upgrade of the auditorium at Torre I...

11/05/2026

VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board and Chairman, Reaffirming Confidence in Digital Growth Strategy

11 May 2026 VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board and Chairman, Reaffirming Confiden...

11/05/2026

Fox Corporation Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results

Fox Corporation Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results NEW YORK, NY, May 11, 2026 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Company ) t...

11/05/2026

Arvato Systems becomes a member of InsurLab Germany

Arvato Systems Becomes a Member of InsurLab Germany Collaboration in the insurance industrys leading innovation network G tersloh - Arvato Systems has joine...

11/05/2026

A Predator in Plain Sight: New true-crime podcast reveals definitive story of pirate radio DJ and abuser Eamon Cooke

Pirate Predator uncovers new information from victims and survivors of abuse on ...

10/05/2026

Berklee Honors Jacob Collier, Jill Scott, and Vinnie Colaiuta at 2026 Commencement

Berklee Honors Jacob Collier, Jill Scott, and Vinnie Colaiuta at 2026 Commenceme...

10/05/2026

RT ALL-IRELAND DRAMA FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED

RT ALL-IRELAND DRAMA FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED DURING GALA AWARDS STREAMED LIVE ON RTE.IE/CULTURE Kilmeen Drama Group hailing from Rossmore, Co. Cork Scoops ...

09/05/2026

Bastl Instruments showcase Kalimba

New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance Bastl Instruments have announced Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modelling, F...

09/05/2026

1010music release blackbox 2

Compact sampling workstation gains new features 1010music have announced blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWless ...

09/05/2026

New SoundApp ARA Plugin Transforms Boris FX CrumplePop

New SoundApp ARA Plugin Transforms Boris FX CrumplePop Jessie Electa Petrov May 9, 2026 0 Comments CrumplePop 2026.5 streamlines music, voice, and cin...

09/05/2026

Celebrating a TV Legend: Sir David Attenborough

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/05/2026

Playmetrics Acquires SportsEngine From Versant

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

NBC Sports, Peacock Scale Vertical-Video Production Across Sports - and Beyond - Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

NBC's 9:16 live-production workflows power Courtside Live, Rinkside Live, Vi...

08/05/2026

ESPN Pieces Together Production Strategy After WNBA's Unsettled Offseason

Native 1080p HDR productions will rely on a mix of remote workflows from Bristol and Los Angeles Despite another prosperous WNBA season in 2025, there was no g...