NVIDIA JetPack 6.1 Boosts Performance and Security through Camera Stack Optimizations and Introduction of Firmware TPM
NVIDIA JetPack
has continuously evolved to offer cutting-edge software tailored to the growing needs of
edge AI and robotic developers
. With each release, JetPack has enhanced its performance, introduced new features, and optimized existing tools to deliver increased value to its users. This means that your existing
Jetson Orin
-based products experience performance optimizations by upgrading to the latest version of JetPack.
JetPack 6, released in Q3 of 2023, marked a significant milestone in this journey. It introduced powerful features like
Bring Your Own Kernel
, providing flexibility to bring any LTS Linux Kernel, and expanded support for a wider range of Linux distributions, providing greater flexibility for different development environments.
Its modular design also enabled the ability to easily upgrade to the latest JetPack compute stack without upgrading
Jetson Linux
. Along with these advances, the performance improvements, including enhanced hardware acceleration, ensure that Jetson platforms operate at peak efficiency.
JetPack 6.1 features
In July 2024, NVIDIA released
NVIDIA JetPack 6.1
, furthering the commitment to continuous improvements in the JetPack stack.
One of the key improvements is the enhanced Argus camera stack, which significantly reduces CPU usage by up to 40% for camera applications.
Another new feature is the introduction of firmware-based Trusted Platform Module (fTPM) support, offering edge-to-cloud security with strong device attestation and secure storage to store certificates and keys, all without the need for additional discrete TPM hardware.
Other highlights include updates to the AI compute stack, over-the-air (OTA) support with secure boot, and improvements in multimedia and networking.
This post discusses the improved camera stack and the new fTPM feature.
Figure 1. New features with JetPack 6.1
Enhanced camera stack
: An enhanced Argus library reduces CPU usage by up to 40% for cameras using the Argus library, by switching to a more efficient Tegra hardware–based sync method.
Enhanced security
: JetPack 6.1 introduces Firmware-based Trusted Platform Module (fTPM) support, enhancing security through secure boot, cryptographic key management, and platform integrity without extra hardware, thus reducing costs and space requirements.
Upgraded stack
: JetPack 6.1 packs the latest and upgraded compute stack. This compute stack can also be used with JetPack 6.0 BSP.
CUDA 12.6
TensorRT 10.3
cuDNN 9.3
VPI 3.2
DLA 3.1
DLFW 24.0
OTA improvements
: Image-based OTA support for NVIDIA Jetson devices with UEFI Secure Boot enabled.
Enhanced camera stack
The JetPack camera stack provides a complete software and driver solution for robust camera support on
NVIDIA Jetson
platforms. It integrates low-level drivers, multimedia APIs, and advanced image-processing tools to enable efficient video capture, processing, and streaming. Supporting various camera interfaces like MIPI CSI, USB, and Ethernet, the stack leverages NVIDIA hardware accelerators for tasks such as scaling, de-noising, and encoding.
The
Argus Camera API
, built on the NVIDIA Camera Core, offers an accessible interface, enabling advanced image capture, sensor control, and video processing while ensuring high performance and customization. This makes it ideal for computer vision and AI applications.
JetPack 6.1 introduces a more efficient implementation of the Argus Camera API, reducing CPU usage by up to 40% for CSI camera capture through Argus. This optimization significantly frees up processing power, enabling additional tasks and improving the overall performance of applications using CSI cameras.
Figure 2 shows the CPU performance improvement with the default Argus API implementation in JetPack 6.0 compared to the enhanced Argus API implementation in JetPack 6.1 for 12 CSI cameras used simultaneously. AR0234 and dual-IMX274–based cameras were used at 1920x1200p, 30 fps for verification.
Figure 2. Camera stack in JetPack 6.1 CPU utilization
The enhanced camera stack also contains multiple stability and image quality improvements.
Introducing firmware-based Trusted Platform Module
JetPack has consistently enhanced security offerings by integrating advanced features with each new release, ensuring robust protection across the NVIDIA Jetson platform.
Foundational security features help provide a robust and comprehensive security framework for Jetson-based applications, protecting against a wide range of threats and ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and protection of sensitive data. These features include the following:
Hardware root of trust (RoT)
Secure boot
Trusted execution environment
Disk encryption
Memory encryption
Rollback protection
Protection from physical attacks
JetPack 6.1 enhances the security capabilities of the JetPack platform by introducing
firmware-based Trusted Platform Module (fTPM)
, a software-based implementation of the
TPM standard
.
fTPM delivers multiple advantages, such as secure key management without the need for extra hardware, simplifying system design and reducing costs. It supports trusted boot and remote attestation, ensuring device integrity and defense against tampering. By securing cryptographic operations, fTPM strengthens data protection and enables secure communication.
For Jetson users, fTPM offers the following key benefits:
Stronger security:
The fTPM feature significantly strengthens the security of cryptographic operations by creating a dedicated, isolated environment within the trusted execution environment (TEE). This ensures that sensitive processes, such as key generation and encryption, are safeguarded from external tampering or malicious software attacks.
Data protection:
It securely stores critical information like cryptographic keys, digital certificates, and passwords, preventing unauthorized access. This ensures that sensitive data remains confidential and is only accessible to authorized components.
Attestation:
fTPM provides cryptographic proofs, enabling the system to demonstrate the integrity and security of both the hardware and software to external entities. This attestation capability ensures that the system’s current state can be verified and trusted by third parties, such as remote servers or other devices.
Using fTPM, Jetson Orin devices now have enhanced protection against unauthorized access and tampering, making them more secure for AI, robotics, and edge computing applications.
For more information, see
Jetson firmware-based TPM
.
Distribution partnerships
NVIDIA Linux distribution partners have also made significant progress in supporting their offerings on Jetson. Here are a few noteworthy updates:
Canonical now has a
fully certified Ubuntu environment
with long-term support right out of the box for Jetson Orin modules.
Red Hat Device Edge with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 on Jetson Orin is now in
Tech preview
.
Wind River Linux is now powering
Jetson Orin-based products in robotics and autonomy.
RedHawk Linux is also supporting mission-critical applications across various industries, while the meta-tegra community has been instrumental in assisting Jetson-based products using Yocto. The NVIDIA collaboration with Linux distribution partners is gaining traction, enabling us to offer the ideal Linux distribution options for all development and deployment needs.
JetPack branch roadmap
A JetPack branch typically remains in the active state for about two years, during which it receives regular updates, including new features, CVE fixes, and PCN additions. After this period, the branch transitions to the sustaining state. In the sustaining state, it continues to receive CVE fixes and PCN updates but no longer incorporates new features.
JetPack 6.1 is the final active release in the JetPack 6 series. After this, the JetPack 6 branch transitions to the sustaining support phase, and continues to receive CVE patches and PCN updates. Figure 3 shows the life cycle for JetPack 5 and JetPack 6.
Figure 3. JetPack branch roadmap for JetPack 5 and JetPack 6
Jetson modules product lifecycle update
With increasing demand for the
Jetson Xavier
and Jetson Orin product family,  NVIDIA has extended the product life cycle for the following products:
The NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX 16GB module will be extended from the initially planned Q1 2026 to Q1 2028.
All NVIDIA Jetson Orin commercial modules including AGX Orin, Orin NX, and Orin Nano products will be extended from the initially planned Q1 2030 to Q1 2032.
For more information, see
Jetson Product Lifecycle
.
Summary
NVIDIA JetPack 6.1 offers substantial enhancements for developers using the Jetson Orin platform. Key features include an upgraded camera stack, resulting in up to a 40% performance boost for camera-based AI applications. The introduction of firmware-based TPM enhances security and device attestation, leading to more secure deployments, along with several other minor improvements.
Jetson Orin users can
upgrade to JetPack 6.1
to get the most out of these advancements and unlock new possibilities in AI and robotics.
For more information, see the following resources:
JetPack SDK
JetPack 6.1 Release Notes
How to Install and Configure JetPack SDK
NVIDIA JetPack 6.1 通过摄像头堆栈优化和固件 TPM 实现性能和安全性提升
NVIDIA JetPack
不断演进，为满足
边缘 AI 和机器人开发者
的不断增长需求提供最新的软件。每个版本中，JetPack 都会增强性能，引入新功能，并优化现有工具，为用户提供更大的价值。这意味着，您现有的基于
Jetson Orin
的产品可以通过升级到最新版本的 JetPack 体验到性能优化。
JetPack 6 于 2023 年第三季度发布，标志着这一进程中的一个重要里程碑。它引入了强大的功能，如
自带内核
（Bring Your Own Kernel），提供了灵活性，可以引入任何 LTS Linux 内核，并扩展了对更广泛的 Linux 发行版的支持，为不同的开发环境提供了更大的灵活性。
它采用模块化设计，无需升级
Jetson Linux
，即可轻松升级到最新的 JetPack 计算堆栈。伴随这些进步，性能改进（包括增强的硬件加速）可确保 Jetson 平台以峰值效率运行。
JetPack 6.1 功能
2024 年 7 月，NVIDIA 发布了
NVIDIA JetPack 6.1
，进一步致力于持续改进 JetPack 堆栈。
其中一项关键改进是增强的 Argus 摄像头堆栈，可将摄像头应用的 CPU 占用率显著降低高达 40%。
另一项新功能是引入基于固件的可信平台模块（Trusted Platform Module，TPM）支持，通过强大的设备认证和安全存储来存储证书和密钥，提供边缘到云的安全性，而无需额外的独立 TPM 硬件。
其他亮点包括 AI 计算堆栈更新、支持安全启动的无线 (OTA) 支持，以及多媒体和网络的改进。
本文将讨论改进的摄像头堆栈和新的 fTPM 功能。
图 1、JetPack 6.1 的新功能
增强型摄像头堆栈
：通过切换到更高效的基于硬件的 Tegra 同步方法，增强型 Argus 库可将使用 Argus 库的摄像头的 CPU 占用率降低高达 40%。
增强安全性
：JetPack 6.1 引入了基于固件的可信平台模块（TPM）支持，无需额外硬件即可通过安全启动、加密密钥管理和平台完整性来增强安全性，从而降低成本和空间需求。
升级堆栈
: JetPack 6.1 包含最新升级的计算堆栈。此计算堆栈还可用于 JetPack 6.0 BSP。
CUDA 12.6
TensorRT 10.3
cuDNN 9.3
VPI 3.2
DLA 3.1
DLFW 24.0
OTA 改进
：在启用 UEFI 安全启动的情况下，为 NVIDIA Jetson 设备提供基于图像的 OTA 支持。
增强的摄像头堆栈
JetPack 摄像头堆栈为
NVIDIA Jetson
平台提供了完整的软件和驱动解决方案，实现了强大的摄像头支持。它集成了低级驱动、多媒体 API 和高级图像处理工具，实现了高效的视频捕获、处理和流式传输。该堆栈支持各种摄像头接口，如 MIPI CSI、USB 和以太网，并利用 NVIDIA 硬件加速器执行缩放、去噪和编码等任务。
Argus Camera API
基于 NVIDIA Camera Core 构建，提供可访问的界面，可实现先进的图像捕获、传感器控制和视频处理，同时确保高性能和自定义。这使其成为计算机视觉和人工智能应用的理想之选。
JetPack 6.1 引入了更高效的 Argus Camera API 实现，通过 Argus 将 CSI 摄像头捕获的 CPU 占用率降低高达 40%。这种优化可显著释放处理能力，实现额外任务，并提高使用 CSI 摄像头的应用程序的整体性能。
图 2 显示了 JetPack 6.0 中默认 Argus API 实现与 JetPack 6.1 中同时使用 12 个 CSI 摄像头的增强 Argus API 实现相比，CPU 性能的提升情况。使用基于 AR0234 和双路 IMX274 的摄像头，分辨率为 1920x1200p，30 fps 进行验证。
图 2、JetPack 6.1 中的摄像头堆栈 CPU 利用率
增强的摄像头堆栈还包含多项稳定性和图像质量改进。
推出基于固件的可信平台模块
JetPack 通过在每个新版本中集成高级功能来不断增强安全产品，确保 NVIDIA Jetson 平台上提供强大的保护。
基础安全功能有助于为基于 Jetson 的应用提供稳健且全面的安全框架，抵御各种威胁，并确保机密性、完整性和对敏感数据的保护。这些功能包括：
硬件信任根 (RoT)
安全启动
可信执行环境
磁盘加密
内存加密
回滚保护
免受物理攻击
JetPack 6.1 通过引入
基于固件的可信平台模块（Trusted Platform Module，TPM）
来增强 JetPack 平台的安全功能，fTPM 是
TPM 标准
的基于软件的实现。
fTPM 具有多种优势，例如无需额外硬件的安全密钥管理、简化系统设计和降低成本。它支持可信启动和远程证明，确保设备的完整性并防止篡改。通过保护加密操作，fTPM 加强数据保护并实现安全通信。
对于 Jetson 用户，fTPM 提供以下主要优势：
更高的安全性：
fTPM 功能通过在可信执行环境（TEE）中创建专用的隔离环境，显著增强了加密操作的安全性。这确保了敏感进程（如密钥生成和加密）免受外部篡改或恶意软件攻击。
数据保护：
它可以安全存储加密密钥、数字证书和密码等关键信息，防止未经授权的访问。这确保敏感数据保持机密性，并且只有授权的组件才能访问。
认证：
fTPM 提供加密证明，使系统能够向外部实体展示硬件和软件的完整性和安全性。这种认证功能确保系统的当前状态可以被远程服务器或其他设备等第三方验证和信任。
借助 fTPM，Jetson Orin 设备现在可以增强对未经授权的访问和篡改的保护，使其在人工智能、机器人开发和边缘计算应用中更加安全。
有关更多信息，请参阅
基于 Jetson 固件的 TPM
。
分销合作伙伴关系
NVIDIA Linux 发行合作伙伴在支持 Jetson 产品方面也取得了重大进展。以下是一些值得注意的更新：
Canonical 现已拥有
经过全面认证的 Ubuntu 环境
，并为 Jetson Orin 模组提供开箱即用的长期支持。
Jetson Orin 上搭载 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 的红帽设备边缘现已提供
技术预览
。
Wind River Linux 正在为
基于 Jetson Orin 的机器人和自主产品提供支持。
RedHawk Linux 还支持各行各业的任务关键型应用程序，同时 meta-tegra 社区在帮助 Jetson 产品使用 Yocto 方面发挥了重要作用。NVIDIA 与 Linux 发行合作伙伴的合作日益密切，这使我们能够针对所有开发和部署需求提供理想的 Linux 发行版选项。
JetPack 分支路线图
JetPack 分支通常会保持大约两年的活动状态，在此期间会定期更新，包括新功能、CVE 修复和 PCN 添加。在此期间之后，分支过渡到维持状态。在维持状态下，它将继续接收 CVE 修复和 PCN 更新，但不再包含新功能。
JetPack 6.1 是 JetPack 6 系列的最后一个活跃版本。在此之后，JetPack 6 分支将过渡到持续支持阶段，并继续接收 CVE 补丁和 PCN 更新。图 3 显示了 JetPack 5 和 JetPack 6 的生命周期。
图 3、适用于 JetPack 5 和 JetPack 6 的 JetPack 分支路线图。
Jetson 模组产品生命周期更新
随着对
Jetson Xavier
和 Jetson Orin 产品系列的需求不断增加，NVIDIA 已经延长了以下产品的产品生命周期：
NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX 16GB 模组将从最初计划的 2026 年第一季度延期到 2028 年第一季度。
所有 NVIDIA Jetson Orin 商用模组（包括 AGX Orin、Orin NX 和 Orin Nano 产品）将从最初计划的 2030 年第一季度延长至 2032 年第一季度。
有关更多信息，请参阅
Jetson 产品生命周期
。
总结
NVIDIA JetPack 6.1 为使用 Jetson Orin 平台的开发者提供了大量增强功能。主要功能包括升级的摄像头堆栈，可为基于摄像头的 AI 应用带来高达 40% 的性能提升。基于固件的 TPM 的引入可增强安全性和设备认证，从而带来更安全的部署，以及其他一些小改进。
Jetson Orin 用户可以
升级到 JetPack 6.1
，以充分利用这些进步，并在 AI 和机器人领域发掘新的可能性。
有关更多信息，请参阅以下资源：
JetPack SDK
JetPack 6.1 版本说明
如何安装和配置 JetPack SDK