Is Euclid a direct replacement for ZR300+Joule?

[CLiu36]

Is there any way to image the entire software from Euclid into ZR300+Joule?

Or the other way round?

Kind Regards,

Chang

[MartyG]

Whilst Joule and Euclid can perform similar functions such as IoT and robotics, my sense is that they represent alternative ways of implementing a project, depending on the developer's needs, rather than one replacing the other. The Euclid is described as an all-in-one computer and camera inside a casing, whilst the Joule is a caseless board that can have different modules attached to it.

Another difference between the two is that whilst both can be used with Ubuntu, Joule can be used with Windows 10 IoT Core, the IoT-specialized flavor of Windows 10, whilst Euclid has been tested for compatibility with the Robotic Operating System (ROS).

[CLiu36]

Thank you very much MartyG.

Indeed they have different implementation advantage and market focus.

For example, if I want the flexible caseless design of ZR300+Joule, but also want the plug and play function of Euclid, Is it possible to download ubuntu firmware of Euclid and flash it into Joule? considering that they have pretty much the same hardware.

Please also point out any method to do so.

Kind Regards,

Chang

[MartyG]

I do not have direct experience of using either Joule or Euclid. Looking at the store description of Euclid's features though, it says that Ubuntu 16.04 and the ROS wrapper are pre-installed. I don't see anything that indicates that these are special versions of Ubuntu and ROS that are unique to the Euclid. Rather, 'pre-installed' just seems to indicate that Intel have put the software on there for the user's convenience so that the user does not have to install it themselves. So if this is the case, you could just try installing Ubuntu and ROS to the Joule with the normal installation files for those applications.

The basic Joule board would of course lack the Euclid's built-in environmental sensors, including inertial measurement unit, barometric pressure sensor, GPS, and proximity sensor. So if you needed those, they would have to be added to the Joule with external attachable modules such as the highly recommendable Grove modules

https://www.seeedstudio.com/Grove-Maker-Kit-for-Intel-Joule-p-2796.html Seeed

The developer McCool has documented their experiences of using ROS and RealSense with the Joule.

[CLiu36]

Great! very nice.

I like the suggested modules.

Thank you so much for your reply.

Chang

[Michael_M_Intel1]

I have used both the Joule and the Euclid, and can provide a few points of comparison. Both are very suitable products for advanced robotics (and of course, for other applications, but I'm using them for robotics).

The Joule uses a more recent microarchitecture and should be somewhat more efficient per clock, although this will depend on your specific workload. The processor on the Euclid is similar to that on the UP Board included in the RDK, but is a higher performing version. Specifically, the processor in the UP Board is the x5-Z8350 while the Euclid uses a x7-Z8700, and also has a higher max (turbo) clock rate (in fact, 2.4GHz, same as the Joule). Some benchmarks have been published comparing the performance of the Joule and the UP Board, and you can look up Geekbench scores comparing the Z8350 and the Z8700, so... I would expect the Euclid's performance to be somewhere between the UP and the Joule. At lot does depend on cooling, though; the Euclid (with active cooling) would probably perform better than a Joule with inadequate passive cooling, for instance. But the reverse would probably be the case with a good cooling solution on the Joule, and/or if you mounted the Euclid in such a way that its vents were blocked...

The camera in the Euclid is equivalent to a ZR300, which ALSO has an IMU. So you might not get the other sensors but if all you want is an IMU the ZR300+Joule combo would have you covered. The Joule+ZR300 combo can also run object and person recognition.

The Joule is perfectly happy running Ubuntu 16.04 as well, however you have to set it up yourself. Ditto for ROS: both run it fine, but on the Joule you need to do your own install (it's not that difficult, though, and is mostly automated). Out of the box the Joule runs a version of Linux designed for production, not development. Both run custom 4.4 kernels giving access to built-in features.

As another point of comparison, the 570X version of the Joule module has 16GB of flash, the Euclid has 32GB. So the Euclid is better in that respect. They both have 4GB of DRAM.

The Joule provides access to a number of signals (GPIOs, I2C, SPI, CSI, DSI, etc) not available on the Euclid.

Both have WiFi and Bluetooth.

The Joule has better graphics and video support than the Euclid... although this may only matter if you are using bleeding-edge OpenGL features, OpenCL acceleration, or the like. I've driven a 4K display and run 3D applications from both without any trouble. For MOST robots you'll probably be running headless (but, of course, not all; but for other applications, like smart signs, this may be a deciding factor).

As noted by other posters however, the Euclid and the Joule serve different purposes. The Joule is meant for people building production systems with low to medium volumes and needing a high-performance processor module.

Software-wise, with an Ubuntu installation on the Joule and a ZR300, they are otherwise very similar in capabilities. In particular, I would say it would be reasonable to use a Euclid as a software development system and then shift later to a Joule for production.

[JesusG_Intel]

McCool, thank you for the comprehensive comparison of the Joule +ZR300 and Euclid. May I have your permission to feature it as a blog, with full attribution to you, on the top of the RealSense Community?

Jesus

Intel Customer Support

[Michael_M_Intel1]

Regarding imaging from one to the other: in theory, yes, by booting off a LiveUSB and using dd, although I have not tried this; in practice, there are enough things special about the low-level setup (different drivers, different kernels) on each that it would be easier just setting each one up separately but with the same packages, etc.

[CLiu36]

Interesting! Thank you very much for your detailed reply.

They seem to have a lot of difference in low level, although the systems are in similar specs.

Certainly possible to develop stuff in Euclid and then run the code in Joule in later stage.

Chang