# On-Device Nodes

Robots and drones typically run on embedded SoCs (System-on-Chip) or edge computers like NVIDIA Jetson, Qualcomm Snapdragon, or ARM Cortex-A53 SBCs.

This creates several challenges including:

* Limited power budgets (battery constraints).
* Real-time workloads (flight control, sensor fusion).
* Safety-critical OS (ROS2, PX4 autopilot).

Idle’s lightweight efficient node is therefore designed to:

* Run as a sidecar agent alongside the robot’s primary control software.
* Handle blockchain signing, proof submission, and task verification without interfering with flight/navigation safety.
* Support hardware acceleration (via Idle Edge-AI Compiler or custom NPUs) for fast inference on proof tasks.

Example:

* A delivery drone parks after a route. Idle Agent activates.
* The drone runs PoC (Proof-of-Compute) workloads (image recognition, crypto math) during idle time.
* Rewards harvested → sent to Idle Vault contract.