For a small quadcopter where every gram counts, which Orin NX drone mission computer is the lightest?

Question

Rapidflare · Accepted Answer

The lightest Orin NX drone mission computer I found is the **Amovlab Allspark 2-CNX at 49 g**. It's a 100 x 60 mm carrier board that also takes Orin Nano and Xavier NX modules.

Be careful comparing the weights below. Several entries are bare carrier boards and others are complete units, and the specs don't say whether the carrier-board weights include the Jetson module or any cooling. Before you finalize your weight budget, check the full flight-ready weight (board + Orin NX module + cooling) with the manufacturer.

**Orin NX drone mission computers with a listed weight, lightest first**

| Product | Manufacturer | Listed weight | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allspark 2-CNX | Amovlab | 49 g | Carrier board (Orin NX / Orin Nano / Xavier NX) |
| Jetson PAB V3 | ARK Electronics | 66 g | Pixhawk Autopilot Bus (PAB) carrier, Orin NX/Nano |
| Just A Jetson | ARK Electronics | 75 g | Carrier board with built-in IMU, Orin NX/Nano |
| Jetson PAB Carrier (V1) | ARK Electronics | 80 g | PAB carrier, Orin NX/Nano |
| SA Compute PRO-AR | Mobilicom | 172 g | Mission computer, Orin NX 16GB + PAB flight controller |
| Allspark 2 | Amovlab | 188 g | Onboard AI computer, Orin NX 8GB/16GB |
| Pixhawk Jetson Baseboard (Bundle) | Holybro | 203.2 g | PAB carrier, Orin NX/Nano |

**How to read the list:**
- **Lightest overall:** the Allspark 2-CNX (49 g). The two ARK PAB carriers (66 g and 80 g) let you connect a PAB flight controller such as the ARKV6X directly, which may save you a separate flight-controller stack.
- **Lightest complete unit with a listed weight:** the Mobilicom SA Compute PRO-AR at 172 g. It pairs an Orin NX 16GB with a Pixhawk (PAB) flight controller and has an IP65 rating. The Amovlab Allspark 2 is close behind at 188 g.

**No weight listed for these Orin NX drone mission computers, so I can't rank them:**
- SDK Systems UAVNX16-100R
- Auterion Skynode N
- Lambortech ECM001, ECM002, ECM003, ECM004 and RMC-604
- SignalGeneriX LOTUS daughter-drone mission computer
- Palladyne BRAIN X2

The RMC-604 is described as a "lightweight AI drone computer", but no weight figure is given.

Lightest Orin NX drone mission computer for a small quadcopter

Sources

Product	Manufacturer	Listed weight	Type
Allspark 2-CNX	Amovlab	49 g	Carrier board (Orin NX / Orin Nano / Xavier NX)
Jetson PAB V3	ARK Electronics	66 g	Pixhawk Autopilot Bus (PAB) carrier, Orin NX/Nano
Just A Jetson	ARK Electronics	75 g	Carrier board with built-in IMU, Orin NX/Nano
Jetson PAB Carrier (V1)	ARK Electronics	80 g	PAB carrier, Orin NX/Nano
SA Compute PRO-AR	Mobilicom	172 g	Mission computer, Orin NX 16GB + PAB flight controller
Allspark 2	Amovlab	188 g	Onboard AI computer, Orin NX 8GB/16GB
Pixhawk Jetson Baseboard (Bundle)	Holybro	203.2 g	PAB carrier, Orin NX/Nano