We are excited to announce that the Blade 3 firmware is now ready for single-board use, and we have also released sample programs for machine learning/image recognition. You can now learn How to do object detection in video with RK YOLOv5 demo. We have successfully completed the QA process on the first batch of Blade 3 boards, and we will start shipping them to Crowd Supply’s distribution warehouse this week. Additionally, the firmware repository will also be made available at the same time.

What’s next

Moving forward, we will make the SDK and documentation accessible in the next step. We plan to release new firmware by the end of March to provide upgrades after PCIe and cluster functionality are optimized. All Blade 3 boards manufactured will be able to update the Full System Image to the latest edition with a MicroSD card or USB cable (we recommend this method). You can find the Update Firmware tutorial documentation here.

Attention

It has come to our attention that some of our users have placed orders for more than one Blade 3 board but have not purchased a breakout board. As a friendly reminder, if you require the cluster function, you will need to order a breakout board from Crowd Supply, or pre-order a cluster box. It is more economical, user-friendly, and faster to cluster Mixtile Blade 3 boards using the daisy-chain topology. Therefore, we offer a custom breakout board and some custom cables. The stacking of N Blade 3 boards requires N Breakout Boards and N-1 cables.

We appreciate your continued support and patience throughout the production process. We look forward to seeing how you utilize your Blade 3 boards and the exciting projects you create with them.