CUSTOMISATION / HOBBY TECH
REVIEW
Orange Pi 4 B
speed peripherals, but its positioning le aves
it at risk of fouling the full-sized HDMI port if
you don’t use the slimmest connectors.
There is a rarity to be found at the top of
the board though: a single-lane PCI-E 2.1
header. Using it requires a low-cost break-
out board and ribbon cable – not supplied
with the review sample, sadly – in order to
provide up to 500MB/sec of bandwidth.S
henzhen Xunlong Software’s
Orange Pi family of single-board
computers got its start like so many
other fruit-themed Pi-suffixed designs:
attempting to clone the original Raspberry Pi.
In the years since, Xunlong’s designs have
diverged significantly from their inspiration,
although the unoriginal moniker remains,
and the Orange Pi 4 B is no exception.
Xunlong started to pull away from the
competition with the launch of the Orange Pi
Plus in 2015 (reviewed in Issue 143), which
included features Raspberry Pi wouldn’t add
to its eponymous SBC family for quite some
time – and, in the case of SATA connections,
still hasn’t. The Orange Pi 4 B, though, goes a
step further by adding a coprocessor designed
for neural network workloads.
That co-processor is a Lightspeeur 2801S
Neural Processing Unit (NPU) from startup
Gyrfalcon. This company made headlines in
2018 by claiming to have a USB-connected
neural network accelerator that was 75
times more energy-efficient than Intel’sMovidius Myriad X.
The 2801S found on
the Orange Pi 4 B – but not
the lower-cost Orange Pi 4, which
also makes the B model’s on-board 16GB
of eMMC storage an optional extra – is
based on the company’s same technology,
but integrated directly onto the board itself.
The shift to an AI focus has resulted in the
loss of a few features – starting with USB
connections. The Orange Pi 4 B, unlike the
Raspberry Pi 4 B, comes with just two full-
sized USB ports of the slower USB 2 variety.
There’s a single USB Type-C connector
offering USB 3 compatibility – along with,
interestingly, DisplayPort support – for high-Nvidia tweaks Jetson Nano design
Nvidia has launched a modestly upgraded version of the
Jetson Nano Developer Kit (reviewed in its original
form in Issue 191), bundling a new B0 revision of the
carrier board. The biggest change is the addition
of a second DSI camera connector, making
the kit ready for stereo-vision applications.
However, it comes at the cost of the
remote power button and serial
console connector. The updated
carrier board is also compatible
with the Jetson Nano Module, which
includes on-board eMMC storage. The retail
price of the Developer Kit remains unchanged at
£95 (inc VAT, excluding shipping).N EWS I N BRI EF
pgraded version of the
wed in its original
B0 revision of the
is the addition
r, making
lications.
ech. The retail
unchanged at
Y TECH
eedperipheralsbutitspositioningleavess
oard
o many
s:
erry Pi.
ave
ation,
ins,he
ange Pi
which
n’t add
some
ctions,Movidius Myriad X.
The 2801S found on
the Orange Pi 4 B – but not
the lower-cost Orange Pi 4, which
also makes the B model’s on-board 16GB
of eMMC storage an optional extra – is
based on the company’s same technology,
d lfYet another Fruit-Pi clone board hits the
market, but with a surprise up its sleeve:
a neural co-processorThe Lightspeeur NPU is designed to accelerate
neural network workloads at a very low power drawCUSTOMISATION / HOBBY
REVIEW
Orange Pi 4 B
speedperipherals,butitspositioningle
it atriskoffoulingthefull-sizedHDMIportif
youdon’tusetheslimmestconnectors.
Thereisa raritytobefoundatthetopof
theboardthough:a single-lanePCI-E2.1
header.Usingit requiresa low-costbreak-
outboardandribboncable– notsupplied
withthereviewsample,sadly– inorderto
provideupto500MB/secofbandwidth.S
henzhenXunlongSoftware’s
OrangePifamilyofsingle-bo
computersgotitsstartlikeso
otherfruit-themedPi-suffixeddesigns
attemptingtoclonetheoriginalRaspbe
Intheyearssince,Xunlong’sdesignsh
divergedsignificantlyfromtheirinspira
althoughtheunoriginalmonikerremai
andtheOrangePi4 B is noexception.
Xunlongstartedtopullawayfromth
competitionwiththelaunchoftheOra
Plusin 2015 (reviewedinIssue143),w
includedfeaturesRaspberryPiwould
toitseponymousSBCfamilyforquite
time– and,inthecaseofSATAconnec
stillhasn’t.TheOrangePi4 B,though,goesa
stepfurtherbyaddinga coprocessordesigned
forneuralnetworkworkloads.
Thatco-processorisa Lightspeeur2801S
NeuralProcessingUnit (NPU)fromstartup
Gyrfalcon.Thiscompanymadeheadlinesin
2018 byclaimingtohavea USB-connected
neuralnetworkacceleratorthatwas 75
timesmoreenergy-efficientthanIntel’s
butintegrateddirectlyontotheboarditself.
TheshifttoanAIfocushasresultedinthe
lossofa fewfeatures– startingwithUSB
connections.TheOrangePi4 B,unlikethe
RaspberryPi4 B,comeswithjusttwofull-
sizedUSBportsoftheslowerUSB2 variety.
There’sa singleUSBType-Cconnector
offeringUSB3 compatibility– alongwith,
interestingly,DisplayPortsupport– forhigh-NvidiatweaksJetsonNanodesign
Nvidiahaslauncheda modestlyupgradedversionofthe
JetsonNanoDeveloperKit(review
forminIssue191),bundlinga newB
carrierboard.Thebiggestchange
ofa secondDSIcameraconnector
thekitreadyforstereo-visionappl
However,it comesatthecostofth
remotepowerbuttonandserial
consoleconnector.Theupdated
carrierboardis alsocompatible
withtheJetsonNanoModule,whic
includeson-boardeMMCstorage
priceoftheDeveloperKitremains
£95(incVAT,excludingshipping).N EWSI NBRI EF
pgradedversionofthe
wedinitsoriginal
B0revisionofthe
istheaddition
r, making
lications.
ech. Theretail
unchangedat
YTECH
edperipheralsbutitspositioningleavess
oard
omany
s:
erryPi.
ave
ation,
ins,he
ngePi
which
n’t add
some
ctions,MovidiusMyriadX.
The 2801Sfoundon
theOrangePi4 B – butnot
the lower-costOrangePi4,which
alsomakestheB model’son-board16GB
ofeMMCstorageanoptionalextra– is
basedonthecompany’ssametechnology,
d lfYet another Fruit-Pi clone board hits the
market, but with a surprise up its sleeve:
a neural co-processorThe Lightspeeur NPU is designed to accelerate
neural network workloads at a very low power draw