The Google Coral USB TPU is an impressive piece of hardware designed to accelerate machine learning models at the edge. In this review, I’ll cover how I use it with Frigate for video surveillance, other potential uses, its price range in the Netherlands, and why it’s worth the investment.
This post may contain affiliate links which means I receive a commission for purchases made through links. I only recommend products that I personally use! Learn more on my private policy page.
Using the Google Coral USB TPU with Frigate
I use the Google Coral USB TPU to enhance the performance of Frigate, a NVR with real-time object detection. By offloading the heavy lifting of machine learning inference to the Coral TPU, Frigate can process more streams with higher accuracy and lower CPU usage. This setup is crucial for maintaining smooth and efficient video surveillance in my home lab.
Other Uses for the Google Coral USB TPU
Beyond Frigate, the Google Coral USB TPU can be used in various edge AI applications. It’s perfect for projects involving TensorFlow Lite models, such as smart home automation, image classification, object detection, and more. Developers can leverage its power to build and deploy machine learning models directly on devices, reducing latency and bandwidth usage.
Price Range in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the Google Coral USB TPU typically sells for around €60 to €80. While this may seem steep, the performance boost and energy efficiency it provides make it a worthwhile investment for any serious home lab enthusiast or AI developer. If you want to support me, and you are from the Netherlands, please buy via this affiliate link (Google Coral TPU on Amazon.nl) from Amazon.nl. I receive a small commission for your purchase.
Conclusion
The Google Coral USB TPU is a valuable addition to any home lab, offering significant improvements in machine learning tasks. Whether you’re enhancing your Frigate setup or exploring other AI applications, this device is worth every euro.
