AWS Deep Racer Unboxing Experience | West Loop Strategy

West Loop strategy is embarking on a blog series focused on Amazon’s Machine Learning (ML) services and products. The first in the series being the Amazon Deep Racer - Amazon's Autonomous Driving vehicle that is outfitted with a variety of innovative technologies.

This blog is part one of the series focused on Deep Racer technology. In the coming weeks we will post more on the the Racer. Coming posts will include setting up and using Deep Racer, and training the racer on data sets and using a variety of sensory systems. Throughout this series, we will also be looking at other Amazon products and services that train on data and can be used to visualize this data such as QuickSight.

For this week we are discussing the unboxing of Deep Racer. If you are wondering what you will be getting with your Deep Racer look no further. Welcome and let’s explore!

First off, what is a Deep Racer? Deep Racer is a small scale race car that allows developers to get experience with machine learning for autonomous vehicles. Want to test out how machine learning works on vehicles but don’t want to pay for a full fledged car? Want to help in the development of autonomous cars but don’t know where to start? Here is the perfect test vehicle for you! Without investing a lot of time and capital you can learn this increasingly valuable skill through practical experience. Not only will you be able to learn by doing, but you can also start to make contributions to the autonomous vehicle industry!

Let’s look at what comes in the box. Deep Racer comes in a very easy to handle, small, and lightweight package. Here is what the sleek box looks like.

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1. Car chassis (with compute and camera modules) 
2. Car body 
3. Car battery 
4. Car battery charger 
5. Car battery power adapter 
6. Compute module Power Bank 
7. Power Bank’s connector cable 
8. Power adapter and power cord for compute module and Power Bank 
9. 4 pins (car chassis pins) 
10. 12 pins (spare parts) 
11. USB-A to micro USB cable
    

Only eleven items and you have yourself a self driving car! Before moving on we do need to mention you need these additional items.

1. Computer or Laptop with USB port and access to the internet 
2. USB flash drive 
3. Wi-Fi network 
4. AWS Account
   

Great, so you’ve unpacked everything and are ready to go. Next up we will be assembling our deep racer and adding a lidar system.