Create Boot Image

Use a boot image when the standard update path is not available or when you need removable boot media. Common cases include:

• The DevKit's internal storage is corrupted or fails to boot.
• You need to prepare multiple bootable SD cards or removable drives for deployment.

Use sima-cli bootimg to download and write a complete bootable image to a removable device, such as an SD card or NVMe drive. You can also use a third-party tool such as BalenaEtcher.

Using sima-cli

sima-cli bootimg -v 2.1.2 --boardtype [modalix|mlsoc]

This command performs the following steps:

1. Downloads the bootable image for the specified board type (modalix or mlsoc) and SDK version.
2. Scans your host machine for removable storage devices.
3. Prompts you to confirm which device to write to.
4. Writes the boot image directly to the selected device.

After the process completes, eject the SD card and insert it into the DevKit. On next boot, the DevKit starts from the new image.

Important Notes:

• This command must be run on a Linux or macOS host.
• An internet connection is required to download the image.

Using Third-Party Tools

You can also write the image with a third-party image writing tool such as BalenaEtcher.

1. First, download the image using sima-cli.

   To download only the firmware image for manual update steps, run sima-cli download with the URL of the appropriate Modalix firmware archive.

2. Extract the contents of the downloaded archive:

   tar -xvf simaai-devkit-fw-modalix-yocto-1.7.0.tar.gz

3. Use BalenaEtcher to select the resulting .wic.gz file and flash it to your SD card or USB drive.

Once written, insert the device into the DevKit and power it on to boot from the image.