Advantech (TWSE: 2395), a global leader in AIoT and Edge Computing, is strengthening its commitment to the rapidly expanding robotics market by enabling seamless, scalable vision integration across Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), humanoid robots, robotic arms, and next‑generation edge AI systems.
In all modern robotic platforms, vision is the foundation for perception, safety, and autonomy—but also one of the most challenging subsystems to integrate. GMSL2/3 cameras have become the industry standard for high‑bandwidth, low‑latency perception, yet the bring‑up process—especially with advanced SoCs—frequently requires weeks of kernel‑level optimization and vendor‑specific driver tuning.
Breaking the Bottleneck: Pre-Validated GMSL Cameras
Whether enabling SLAM navigation in AMRs, stereo depth perception for humanoid locomotion, or high‑speed industrial inspection for robotic arms, developers face the same barriers:
- Desired cameras are often not supported on the preferred edge computing platforms
- Reference designs published by CPU vendors are not applicable
- High cost of camera enablement
- Camera drivers are not upgraded with the latest edge computer BSP and OS
Advantech closes this gap through deep collaborations with NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Intel, and Rockchip. By mastering the driver and kernel requirements of each ecosystem, Advantech provides production‑ready, pre-validated GMSL drivers in association with top-notch camera vendors.
Expansive Camera Ecosystem and Joint Design-in Service
Advantech AFE/ASR series support a broad portfolio of validated GMSL2/3 cameras, covering the full breadth of perception needs across different robot types. Developers can choose from 2D, Stereo, and 3D cameras made by the following partners:
- APPRO
- Basler
- D3 Embedded
- e-con
- FRAMOS
- innodisk
- Leopard Imaging
- Orbbec
- oToBrite
- RealSense
- SENSING
- StereoLabs
Advantech and the camera partners jointly provide design-in service that accelerates robotics vision development by supporting new camera‑SoC enablement, optimal sensor selection, image quality tuning, and customized driver development. This collaboration streamlines integration, shortens development cycles while ensuring reliable and scalable deployment across diverse robotic platforms and applications.
One‑Click Installation and Long-Term BSP Support
At the center of Advantech’s vision strategy is the One‑Click Installation Package, which transforms camera integration from a complex engineering task into a simple, streamlined experience.
GMSL camera drivers are included and maintained in the board support packages (BSPs) of Advantech’s robotics controllers, particularly the AFE and ASR series. In addition, the drivers are provided as ROS Nodes within the Robotic Suite—a complementary software package consisting of open-source toolkits like ROS2 and Autoware, optimized AI inferencing SDKs, and sample codes for robotic applications.
Multi‑Architecture Robotics Controller Series
Designed for real‑time responsiveness and high‑performance edge AI processing, the AFE/ASR series deliver reliable perception, motion control, and multi‑sensor integration within an unified software environment. Turnkey GMSL enablement, continuous driver maintenance, and streamlined sensor integration significantly accelerate deployment across diverse robotic applications.
The AFE/ASR series is available as commercial off‑the‑shelf carrier boards and system‑level products built on leading processor platforms, including NVIDIA® Jetson™ Thor, Jetson AGX Orin™, Jetson Orin™ NX, Qualcomm® Robotics platforms such as the IQ9 series, Intel® Core™ Ultra processors, and Rockchip RK3588‑based solutions. This broad platform coverage enables design flexibility, modular scalability, and long‑lifecycle availability, providing robotics developers with a stable foundation for building next‑generation autonomous systems.
Advantech’s computing platforms for robotics, powered by NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Intel, bring optimized AI performance to a wide range of industrial and commercial applications.
For autonomous vehicles in harsh environments, platforms such as ASR-A701 and AFE-R750 leverage NVIDIA Jetson Orin (AGX/NX), delivering up to 275 TOPS for reliable perception and control in extreme conditions.
In drone applications, the ASR-D501 drone platform, based on Qualcomm QCS6490 (12 TOPS), enables efficient and intelligent operations for agriculture and inspection.
Logistics automation is supported by ASR-A503 and AFE-A503, powered by Qualcomm QCS9075M (100 TOPS), providing high-performance solutions for AMR warehouse lifters and streamlined material handling.
For cleaning and flexible service robotics, AFE-R770 utilizes Intel Core processors with optional AI modules, offering adaptable performance for commercial environments.
At the high end, humanoid robotics platforms ASR-A702 and AFE-A702, powered by NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor 5000/4000 (up to 2070 TOPS), enable advanced autonomy and complex human-like interactions.
Together, these solutions deliver scalable, application-specific AI platforms that accelerate the deployment of next-generation robotics across industries.
Learn more about Advantech’s Robotics Solutions: here.
