From Roadside Perception to In-Vehicle Computing — How the EA250Pro Powered by Jetson Orin NX Fits into Smart Transportation Scenarios

Series positioning: The third article in the EA250Pro product deep-dive series. Written for autonomous driving solution providers, smart transportation integrators, and project decision-makers.

Reading benefit: After reading this article, you will have a clear understanding of the real requirements that autonomous driving roadside perception places on edge computing, and why the EA250Pro powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX stands firm in vehicle-road collaboration and roadside perception scenarios.

Core conclusions:

• Roadside perception imposes three hard requirements on edge computing: multi-channel camera access, low-latency inference, and wide-temperature industrial-grade design — none of which can be omitted.
• Industry standards explicitly require that edge computing units simultaneously connect to ≥ 2 types of perception devices, be deployed on the same pole as roadside units, and that the communication latency between the roadside and the cloud be ≤ 100 ms.
• Ouster BlueCity has already run deep learning perception models on Jetson AGX Orin and Orin NX, validating the feasibility of the Jetson platform in smart transportation scenarios.
• The EA250Pro is equipped with NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16GB, 157 TOPS of computing power + 4-channel GMSL2/Ethernet camera + 12V–24V wide voltage input, precisely matching the core requirements of roadside perception and in-vehicle computing.

Over the past few years, autonomous driving has followed the "single-vehicle intelligence" route — the vehicle itself is equipped with LiDAR, cameras, and millimeter-wave radar, perceiving everything on its own. But this route has a natural bottleneck: limited field of view. No matter how smart your vehicle is, it cannot see the road conditions ahead blocked by a large truck. Roadside perception is meant to solve this problem — deploying sensors and edge computing devices at intersections, ramps, and long straight road sections, transmitting "God's-eye view" perception data to vehicles in real time, letting vehicles know in advance what is ahead.

In 2026, the industry is transitioning from "single-vehicle intelligence" to "vehicle-road-cloud integration." A batch of group standards has been intensively issued, systematically regulating the composition and technical requirements of roadside intelligent devices. Among them, it is explicitly required that: edge computing units should be deployed near roadside unit data collection devices on the same pole, avoiding long cabling; roadside-to-cloud communication latency ≤ 100 ms; the number of collection devices to be simultaneously connected ≥ 2 types.

What do these standards define? They define that a qualified roadside edge computing device must possess three capabilities: multi-sensor access, low-latency inference, and wide-temperature industrial-grade design.
2. The Real Requirements of Roadside Perception: More Than Just "Fast Computing"

Many manufacturers only emphasize TOPS computing power when promoting edge computing devices, but the real requirements of roadside perception scenarios go far beyond this.

Requirement 1: Simultaneous Multi-Channel Camera Access

A standard intersection typically requires 4–8 cameras to cover different directions. These cameras may be GMSL2, Gigabit Ethernet, or USB interfaces — the existing infrastructure varies across different cities. Edge computing devices must be able to adapt flexibly.

Requirement 2: Low-Latency Inference

The latency of roadside perception directly affects driving safety. Industry standards require perception latency ≤ 100 ms. Taking Huawei's Shenzhen Pingshan project as an example, its radar-vision fusion perception solution achieves lane-level perception positioning accuracy through Ascend edge computing, with perception latency of 100 ms, vehicle/non-motor vehicle/pedestrian perception accuracy reaching 95%, and the entire station equipment supporting PTP high-precision timing to ensure spatiotemporal consistency of multi-source data.

Requirement 3: Wide Temperature, Wide Voltage + Remote Operations and Maintenance

Roadside cabinets are deployed outdoors, exposed to scorching sun in summer and severe cold in winter. Equipment must support wide-temperature operation (at least -20°C to +70°C). In terms of power supply, roadside devices typically draw power from traffic signal poles, where voltage fluctuations are significant — wide voltage input is a necessity. More importantly, remote operations and maintenance capability — equipment is deployed on poles several meters high, and it is impossible to climb the pole for inspection every time an issue arises.

In 2026, the roadside perception market is undergoing an important transformation.

Trend 1: From Closed Ecosystems to Open Platforms

Early roadside perception solutions were mostly closed models of "dedicated devices + dedicated platforms," where cameras, radar, and edge computing units had to come from the same manufacturer. The drawbacks of this model are obvious: existing sensors in cities cannot be reused, and renovation costs are high.

Today, the industry is transitioning toward open platforms. Edge computing devices need to support multiple camera interfaces (GMSL2, Gigabit Ethernet, USB), be able to connect to sensors from different brands, and communicate with upper-layer platforms through standardized protocols (such as ONVIF, GB/T28181).

Trend 2: From "Roadside Dedicated" to "Roadside + In-Vehicle" Universal

Roadside perception and in-vehicle computing have many overlapping hardware requirements: multi-channel camera access, low-latency inference, wide temperature and wide voltage, vibration resistance. More and more solution providers are looking for a universal platform that serves "one device, two purposes," reducing R&D and supply chain costs.

Trend 3: The Jetson Platform Has Been Validated in Smart Transportation Scenarios

Ouster BlueCity's deep learning perception models run on Jetson AGX Orin and Orin NX, achieving real-time edge inference and having been deployed at over 400 sites worldwide. This validates the feasibility of the Jetson platform in smart transportation scenarios. NVIDIA Metropolis and Holoscan frameworks also provide a complete AI development toolchain for transportation scenarios.

The EA250Pro takes an open, universal approach: using one industrial-grade edge AI computer, through flexible camera inputs and rich industrial interfaces, to adapt to sensors and roadside devices from different manufacturers.

4.1 Camera Input: 4 Options, No Brand Restrictions

The EA250Pro supports flexible selection of 4-channel USB 3.0, 4-channel GMSL2 industrial cameras, 4-channel Gigabit Ethernet cameras, or 4-channel MIPI CSI-2 cameras.

The GMSL2 interface is particularly valuable in roadside perception scenarios: coaxial cable supports 15-meter transmission distance and Power over Coax (PoC), with one cable handling both data and power, suitable for long-distance connections from pole-mounted cameras to cabinets. Gigabit Ethernet cameras, on the other hand, are suitable for cities with existing network cable infrastructure — no need to re-cable, directly connect using existing network cables.

The GMSL2 interface is particularly valuable in roadside perception scenarios: coaxial cable supports 15-meter transmission distance and Power over Coax (PoC), with one cable handling both data and power, suitable for long-distance connections from pole-mounted cameras to cabinets. Gigabit Ethernet cameras, on the other hand, are suitable for cities with existing network cable infrastructure — no need to re-cable, directly connect using existing network cables.

4.2 Computing Power: Jetson Orin NX Onboard, 157 TOPS Enough to Run Mainstream Perception Models

The EA250Pro is equipped with NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16GB, providing up to 157 TOPS of INT8 computing power. This level of computing power can simultaneously run multi-channel object detection, classification, and tracking models.

The Jetson Orin NX's eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor (clocked at 2.0 GHz), combined with 1024 CUDA cores and 32 fourth-generation Tensor Cores, provides ample computing headroom for parallel inference of multiple video streams.

Academic research has also validated the feasibility of Jetson Orin NX in transportation scenarios. A study published in IEEE developed an emergency vehicle priority passage system based on Jetson Orin NX and YOLOv11-tiny, improving mAP from 0.58 to 0.92 through transfer learning, validating the architecture's high reliability. Ouster BlueCity's deep learning perception models also run on Jetson AGX Orin and Orin NX, achieving real-time edge inference and having been deployed at over 400 sites worldwide.

4.3 Wide Temperature, Wide Voltage: -20°C to +75°C, 12V to 24V

The EA250Pro series supports wide-temperature operation from -20°C to +75°C, 12V–24V wide-voltage DC input, all-aluminum alloy enclosure, and has passed CE and FCC certifications. ESD protection reaches contact discharge ±6 kV, air discharge ±8 kV, and EFT reaches 2 kV for power lines and 1 kV for signal lines — sufficient to cope with the electromagnetic environment of roadside cabinets.

4.4 Remote Operations and Maintenance: OOB Out-of-Band Management, No Pole Climbing Needed

The EA250Pro can optionally be equipped with an OOB out-of-band management module, supporting remote power on/off and device restart via Ethernet/WiFi/4G, without the need to go on-site. For roadside devices deployed on high poles, this feature is a "lifeline" — when the device freezes, there is no need to dispatch an engineering vehicle to close off the road for inspection; a remote restart will do.

4.5 In-Vehicle Scenarios: Wide Voltage Input + Compact Size

The EA250Pro's 12V–24V wide voltage input and compact size (157 × 130 × 59 mm) make it equally suitable for in-vehicle deployment. The all-aluminum alloy enclosure combined with wide-temperature design adapts to in-vehicle vibration environments. The 4-channel GMSL2 camera interfaces are suitable for surround-view perception of AMR/AGV, communicating with the vehicle chassis via CAN FD, and the OOB module supports remote debugging.

Deployment location: Inside the roadside cabinet or equipment box next to the signal pole; it is recommended to deploy on the same pole as the cameras to reduce long cabling.

Power supply solution: 12V–24V DC input, can directly draw power from the signal pole's power supply. It is recommended to configure a UPS or voltage regulator module to cope with voltage fluctuations.

Thermal design: The EA250Pro uses an all-aluminum alloy enclosure + high-efficiency heat dissipation fins, supporting passive/active cooling. For outdoor cabinets, it is recommended to optionally equip an external variable-speed fan to cope with summer high temperatures.

Network solution: 1× 1GbE + 1× 2.5GbE dual network ports, one for connecting cameras and one for connecting to the backhaul network. Optional 4G/5G module for wireless backhaul.

Remote operations and maintenance: It is strongly recommended to optionally equip the OOB out-of-band management module. Roadside devices are deployed on high poles, and the cost of climbing the pole for inspection each time far exceeds the purchase cost of the OOB module.

Camera selection: If existing network cable infrastructure is available, choose the 4-channel Gigabit Ethernet camera solution; if building new or requiring long-distance transmission, choose the 4-channel GMSL2 solution.

Q1: Can the EA250Pro simultaneously connect cameras from different brands?

A: Yes. The EA250Pro supports 4 camera input options; as long as the camera complies with USB, GMSL2, Gigabit Ethernet, or MIPI CSI-2 protocols, it can be connected. There is no brand restriction.

Q2: Is the Jetson Orin NX's 157 TOPS enough for roadside perception?

A: Yes. Running YOLO detection on 4 channels of 1080P video simultaneously is more than sufficient with 157 TOPS. If you need to simultaneously run LiDAR point cloud processing + multi-channel video fusion perception, it is recommended to consider the EA270 (Jetson AGX Orin, 275 TOPS).

Q3: Does the EA250Pro support V2X communication?

A: The EA250Pro itself does not integrate a V2X module, but an external V2X module can be connected via USB or MiniPCIe interface. It also supports 4G/5G cellular modules for data backhaul.

Q4: Is the OOB out-of-band management module mandatory?

A: It is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended for roadside high-pole deployment scenarios. With OOB, when the device freezes, there is no need to climb the pole — a remote restart will do.

Q5: Can the EA250Pro be used in in-vehicle environments?

A: Yes. 12V–24V wide voltage input, all-aluminum alloy enclosure resistant to vibration, wide-temperature design adapts to in-vehicle environments. However, it is recommended to conduct targeted verification based on the specific vehicle model's vibration and temperature conditions.