A closer look at NVIDIA's vision for AI ubiquity

Building new hardware has become increasingly easier thanks to the rise of 3D printing and the quick prototyping that's now possible thanks to devices like the Arduino, Raspberry Pi and LittleBits. With Nvidia dropping the Jetson TX1's machine-learning firepower into the mix, small companies and makers will be able to quickly put together smarter devices that have some of the same abilities that are creeping into our cars.

At its launch event, Nvidia partners showed off what's possible with the new module. On display were small autonomous cars racing around a track and drones 3D mapping an area in real time. While those and other demos were impressive, it's only the beginning. As the module and developer kit end up in the hands of more and more individuals, the implications of inexpensive plug-and-play AI and computer vision mean we're going to see more intelligent robots, drones and cameras appearing at Maker Faires, on Kickstarter and from new startups.

These are the people that will move quickly, learning from each other and iterating at a pace that's tough for a larger company. There will be failures. Lots of failures. But AI is ready to be developed by the masses and hopefully they'll find ways to make our lives easier beyond just maker a smarter drone. Or at least make sure it doesn't become the overlord Elon Musk fears it could become.