MIPI Camera Interfaces

note

Please install or upgrade sima-cli before continuing. This guide is intended for use with the latest sima-cli version.

note

This procedure requires a host with the latest sima-cli version installed. It also requires a Modalix DevKit firmware version that includes the .dtbo files for MIPI support.

The Modalix DevKit includes two MIPI interfaces for camera input. The MIPI ports are located on the carrier board.

Before you start, power off the Modalix DevKit and attach a MIPI camera to one of the MIPI ports.

Connect a serial cable from the host to the Modalix DevKit, then power on the DevKit.

Open a serial terminal with sima-cli, then press any key during the 3 second countdown to enter U-Boot:

sima-cli serial -b 115200
...
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
sima$

In U-Boot, set the dtbos variable to the appropriate Device Tree Blob Overlay (.dtbo) file. The correct file depends on the carrier board, camera manufacturer, sensor type, and camera port. Then save the environment and boot into the operating system.

The filename follows this pattern:

modalix-som-<carrier_board>-<camera_manufacturer>-<sensor_type>-<port>CAM.dtbo

Select each component based on your hardware:

Component	Values	Description
Carrier Board	`connectech`, `seeedstudio`, `waveshare`	The carrier board model
Camera Manufacturer	`ARDU`, `ECON`, `LI`	Arducam, e-con Systems, or Leopard Imaging
Sensor Type	`IMX477`, `IMX568`, `IMX678`, `AR0234`, `OG05C10`	The camera sensor model
Port	`0CAM`, `1CAM`, `2CAM`, `3CAM`, `DUAL`	The MIPI port number connected to the camera

For example, a Connectech carrier board with a Leopard Imaging IMX477 sensor connected to port 0:

sima$ setenv dtbos modalix-som-connectech-LI-IMX477-0CAM.dtbo ; saveenv ; boot

The full list of available .dtbo files is:

modalix-som-connectech-ARDU-IMX477-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ARDU-IMX477-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ARDU-IMX477-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ARDU-IMX477-3CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX568-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX568-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX568-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX568-3CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX678-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX678-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX678-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-ECON-IMX678-3CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-AR0234-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-AR0234-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-AR0234-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-AR0234-3CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-OG05C10-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-OG05C10-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-OG05C10-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-connectech-LI-OG05C10-3CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ARDU-IMX477-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ARDU-IMX477-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ARDU-IMX477-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ECON-IMX568-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ECON-IMX568-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ECON-IMX568-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ECON-IMX678-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ECON-IMX678-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-ECON-IMX678-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-LI-AR0234-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-LI-AR0234-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-LI-AR0234-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-LI-OG05C10-0CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-LI-OG05C10-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-seeedstudio-LI-OG05C10-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ARDU-IMX477-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ARDU-IMX477-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ARDU-IMX477-DUAL.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ECON-IMX568-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ECON-IMX568-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ECON-IMX678-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ECON-IMX678-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-ECON-IMX678-DUAL.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-LI-AR0234-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-LI-AR0234-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-LI-AR0234-DUAL.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-LI-OG05C10-1CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-LI-OG05C10-2CAM.dtbo
modalix-som-waveshare-LI-OG05C10-DUAL.dtbo

To validate the interfaces, connect the Modalix DevKit to a display and log in. Then, use libcamera to verify camera connectivity.

List available cameras:
```
sima@modalix:~$ cam -l
```
Show different camera formats for camera 1:
```
sima@modalix:~$ cam -c 1 -I
```

Capture an image from camera 1:

sima@modalix:~$ rm -rf frame* && cam -c 1 --capture=1 -F -s pixelformat=NV12