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IMX93 VLS-FPD3 Camera Usage Guide

🚀 Introduction​

This article guides you how to get started using TechNexion camera modules on IMX93 development kits.

Background knowledge needed

You must have the background knowledge to modify the kernel configuration, rebuild, and replace the kernel and the device tree source (DTS).

e.g. IMX93 Baseboards

This article uses the EDM-WB and AXON-WB baseboards as examples.

📸 Supported Camera Modules​

Camera SeriesProducts
VLS-FPD3
VLS-FPD3-AR0144
VLS-FPD3-AR0145
VLS-FPD3-AR0234
VLS-FPD3-AR0521
VLS-FPD3-AR0522
VLS-FPD3-AR0821
VLS-FPD3-AR0822
VLS-FPD3-AR1335

🧩 Supported Boards​

SoMBoard
EDM-IMX93EDM-WB
AXON-IMX93AXON-WB

🔧 Hardware Setup Instructions​

1. Power Supply Preparation​

  • Use a DC 5V or 12V power cable to supply power to the board.
  • If you're using FPD-Link III SerDes, a 12V power adapter (minimum 3A) is required. Connect it via the barrel jack connector.
info

The EDM-WB and AXON-WB can also be powered via USB Type-C (5V).

2. Debug Console Connection​

  • Prepare a USB-to-UART cable if you're connecting to a PC.
  • Connect the cable to the debug console port on the baseboard.

💻 Prepare Yocto demo image for testing TechNexion camera​

To test TechNexion cameras, you will need a Yocto-based demo image that includes the necessary device tree blobs and camera drivers.

🔽 Downloading the Demo Image​

Prebuilt demo images are available for download on TechNexion's official server.

🔗 Supported Release List (Instructions for EDM-IMX93)

💾 Flashing the Image​

You can flash the image to either e.MMC or an SD Card using one of the following methods:

1. Using uuu Tool (Universal Update Utility)​

TechNexion provides a guide to flash the image using the uuu tool: 🔗 How to Flash with UUU

Boot Mode

Before flashing, ensure the board is set to Serial Download Mode in the boot configuration.

2. Using ums Command in U-Boot (USB Mass Storage)​

Alternatively, you can write the image directly to flash storage over USB-OTG using U-Boot’s ums command: 🔗 Using UMS in U-Boot

U-Boot Requirement

The board must be booted with a version of U-Boot that supports the ums command. Typically, this is done from the existing e.MMC.

🛠️ Build Yocto​

TechNexion supports building a Yocto-based Linux image tailored for camera modules using the following kernel and branch.

📦 Supported Linux Kernel​

Linux Kernel VersionYocto Branch
6.1.55tn-imx_6.1.55_2.2.0-stable

📁 Source and Build Instructions​

🔗 Fetch Yocto Source

📖 Build Yocto (Instructions for EDM-IMX93)

📸 Camera Testing Instructions​

Specify Camera DTBO in U-Boot​

Manual DTBO Setup​

  1. Connect the debug console cable to the baseboard (via UART).

  2. Power on the board and interrupt the boot process. Keep pressing Enter when the following message appears: Hit any key to stop autoboot:

  3. Set the correct camera overlay (DTBO) using the U-Boot environment variable:

  u-boot=> setenv dtoverlay vls
  1. Save and continue the boot process:
u-boot=> saveenv
u-boot=> boot
LCD display

Don't forget the append LCD overlay if the baseboard has LCD connections.

🎥 Start Camera Video Stream via GStreamer​

Check Camera Availability​

Use the v4l2-ctl tool to list connected video devices.

$ v4l2-ctl --list-device

Example output:

FSL Capture Media Device (platform:42800000.bus:camera):
/dev/media0

mxc-isi-cap (platform:4ae40000.isi:cap_devic):
/dev/video0

In this example, /dev/video0 is the capture device connected via CSI1.

Launch GStreamer Pipeline​

Replace <res_w> and <res_h> with your desired resolution:

$ gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! \
  video/x-raw, width=<res_w>, height=<res_h> ! \
  videoconvert ! \
  waylandsink sync=false
warning

It not necessary to use or using videoconvert. Because IMX93 have ISI to convert format.

🚨 Troubleshooting​

Ensure camera device tree blob overlay(DTBO) is specified correctly in u-boot.

    u-boot=> printenv dtoverlay
    dtoverlay=vls

We can check whether camera have been initialized correctly.
Ensure camera device tree blob(DTB) is specified correctly.

  $ dmesg -t | grep -i model
    Machine model: TechNexion EDM-IMX93 and WB baseboard