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Open Source VLM Deployment on Jetson Devices: A Practical Tutorial

VLM Jetson Orin vLLM Open Source AI Edge Computing Reasoning Quantization
February 24, 2026
Viqus Verdict Logo Viqus Verdict Logo 6
Iterative Advancement, Not a Breakthrough
Media Hype 5/10
Real Impact 6/10

Article Summary

This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to deploying open-source Vision-Language Models (VLMs) on NVIDIA Jetson hardware. It focuses on the NVIDIA Cosmos Reasoning 2B model, a 2 billion parameter model designed for reasoning tasks. The core of the demonstration is the utilization of the vLLM framework, known for its efficient inference capabilities on edge devices. The article walks through setting up the necessary environment, including installing the NGC CLI, pulling the vLLM Docker image, and mounting the model weights. The guide covers three distinct scenarios – the high-performance Jetson AGX Thor, the more capable AGX Orin, and the memory-constrained Jetson Orin Super Nano – each with tailored configuration flags to maximize performance and stability. The Live VLM WebUI is then connected to the deployed model, enabling interactive webcam-based physical AI applications. The emphasis is on practical implementation, presenting the commands and configurations necessary for users to replicate the setup. This guide is beneficial for developers and researchers seeking to explore and experiment with VLMs on embedded systems.

Key Points

  • The tutorial demonstrates deploying the NVIDIA Cosmos Reasoning 2B VLM on Jetson AGX Thor, Orin, and Super Nano devices.
  • It leverages the vLLM framework, optimized for edge inference.
  • The guide offers customized configurations for each Jetson device, addressing memory constraints.
  • The Live VLM WebUI allows users to interact with the deployed model via a webcam.

Why It Matters

This tutorial’s value extends beyond a simple demonstration. It’s a crucial step toward making advanced AI accessible on lower-powered hardware, accelerating the development of robotics and edge AI applications. The successful deployment of a 2B parameter VLM on Jetson devices is a significant milestone, moving us closer to real-time physical AI interaction. It showcases the potential for utilizing open-source models for practical, low-latency applications, particularly valuable for research and development where cost and power consumption are key considerations. This significantly reduces the barrier to entry for researchers and hobbyists seeking to experiment with VLMs.

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