Ubuntu Core 24 Release Makes it Easy to Deploy AI on IoT Devices

Canonical, the creators of Ubuntu, seem to be on a roll right now.

Days after announcing that Ubuntu 24.04 runs on the world's first credit-card size RISC-V SBC, they have now doubled down on how they cater to IoT devices with a new Ubuntu Core 24 release.

If you were not familiar, Ubuntu Core is an immutable distro which is designed for IoT and Edge use cases, where security and reliability are the top priorities.

In any case, let's see what's in store.

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Ubuntu Core 24: What to Expect?

Based on Ubuntu 24.04, this Ubuntu Core release comes equipped with Canonical's 12 years of long-term support promise and supports platforms like X86, ARM and RISC-V.

During the launch, Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical, added that:

In Ubuntu Core 24 we are excited to bring the full AI stack with real-time kernel to the edge, to enable mission-critical decision-making for industrial, automotive and security-sensitive embedded solutions.

From the get-go, this release of Ubuntu Core offers better support and new features for GPU -intensive tasks, that lets you use the GPU interface for embedding a wide range of applications, including AI models running inference on the edge.

You can dive deeper into how AI works with Ubuntu Core 24 by referring to Canonical's blog.

There's better hardware support too, which was made possible with a combination of updated graphics drivers and optimized resource utilization with the use of a shared userspace environment.

Factory installation times with Ubuntu Core 24 have also been shortened, enabling less downtime when setting up new devices, or even upgrading existing ones. They have also enabled air-gapped factory installation to “meet demands for accelerated rollouts and secure, global supply chains”.

Canonical's Wayland-based Ubuntu Frame display server, which is used on kiosks, digital signage, smart mirrors, etc. also receives some important updates. It now supports hybrid graphics and has some new features that can be used with Core, such as screen locking, power-saving displays, seamless boot, etc.

If this release has piqued your interest, then I highly suggest you go through the announcement blog, where you will find more details regarding Landscape, Canonical's device management tool and Azure IoT Edge snaps as a developer.