IMX477 J20 Camera Setup Guide for NVIDIA Jetson Orin

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Introduction to Sony IMX477 Linux driver

RidgeRun is actively working to enable customers with great software solutions on top of powerful hardware. For this reason, RidgeRun has worked on enabling a triple capture for the V4L2 driver for the Raspberry Pi HQ camera using an Auvidea J20 board. This wiki contains a brief introduction to the sensor and hardware that will be used to use the driver. Also please keep in mind that the driver can be ported to other Jetson platforms if needed. Please contact us if you require more information.

Raspberry Pi HQ camera

Camera Features

12.3-Megapixel high-resolution Sony IMX477 sensor.
1.55μm × 1.55μm Pixel Size – double the pixel area of IMX219 for improved low-light performance.
Back-illuminated sensor architecture for improved sensitivity.
Support for different C- and CS-mount lenses.
Integrated back-focus adjustment ring and tripod mount.

Sony IMX477 Basic Drive Mode

The Raspberry Pi HQ camera uses the IMX477 CMOS sensor of Sony to capture. Such a sensor provides the modes included in the table below. At this point, RidgeRun is working to support one mode only but others can be added per request.

Drive Mode	Number of active pixels	Maximum frame rate [frame/s]	Output Interface	ADC [bit]
Full (4:3) (Normal)	4056 x 3040 approx. 12.33 M pixels	60	CSI-2	10
Full (4:3) (Normal)	4056 x 3040 approx. 12.33 M pixels	40	CSI-2	12
Full (4:3) (DOL-HDR)	4056 x 3040 approx. 12.33 M pixels	DOL 2 frame:30 DOL 3 frame:15	CSI-2	10
Full (16:9) 4K2K (Normal)	4056 x 2288 approx. 9.28 M pixels	79	CSI-2	10
Full (16:9) 4K2K (DOL-HDR)	4056 x 2288 approx. 9.28 M pixels	DOL 2 frame:39 DOL 3 frame:19	CSI-2	10
Full (4:3) Binning (Normal)	2028 x 1520 approx. 3.08 M pixels	179	CSI-2	10
Full (16:9) Binning 1080P (Normal)	2028 x 1128 approx. 2.29 M pixels	240	CSI-2	10
Full (16:9) Binning 720P (Normal)	1348 x 750 approx. 1.01 M pixels	240	CSI-2	10
Full (16:9) Scaling 1080P (Normal)	2024 x 1142 approx. 2.31 M pixels	79	CSI-2	10
Full (16:9) Scalling 720P (Normal)	1348 x 762 approx. 1.03 M pixels	79	CSI-2	10

Compatibility with NVIDIA^®Jetson™ Platforms

R8 resistor

The Raspberry Pi HQ camera module requires a hardware modification in order to work with Jetson Platforms. Jetson Platforms provide 1.8V for reset GPIO in the camera interface, but the camera module requires 3.3V.

To fix this issue a resistor labeled as R8 must be removed from the camera module. If you decide to apply this fix it is under your own risk. RidgeRun is not responsible for any damage caused to your board. The following picture shows the location of the R8 in the module.

Figure 1. R8 resistor on RPi HQ camera module.

Auvidea J20 adapter

The NVIDIA^®Jetson Orin™ makes use of a Samtec connector, this driver makes use of the J20 from Auvidea More information recopilated from RidgeRun can be found here.

The driver will work with IMX477 connected to the J1_1, J1_2, and J1_3 ports of the J20.

IMX477 Linux driver for NVIDIA^®Jetson Orin™

RidgeRun Engineering has developed the driver with NVIDIA Corporation and Leopard Imaging Inc. and Auvidea. as a collaborative initiative. The driver works with three cameras on the J1 ports from the J20. In this section, you will find the instructions to patch the JetPack sources enabling the IMX477 sensor driver for the Jetson Orin. These instructions have been validated in the following JetPack versions:

Jetpack 5.0.2

Download JetPack

The current version of the driver is supported in Jetpack 5.0.2. Porting the driver to other versions and platforms is possible.

1. Download and install the NVIDIA SDK Manager (membership is required).

2. Log in with your NVIDIA membership credentials in the SDK Manager.

3. Select JetPack version 5.0.2 DP and Jetson Orin as shown below and press Continue:

Figure 1. Required SDK Manager options.

4. Accept the terms and conditions and press Continue. The SDK Manager will download and install the selected components:

Figure 2. SDK Manager download and install software.

5. Select Manual Setup. Create a Make sure the board is in Recovery Mode and then press Flash:

Figure 3. Manual setup to start the flashing process.

Recovery Mode for Jetson Orin AGX

Make sure the device is connected to the power adapter but powered off.
Connect the host computer to the front USB Type-C connector on the device.
Power the device
Press and hold the middle (Force Recovery) button.
Press and hold the left (Power) button.
Release both buttons.

6. When the OS has been installed successfully in the Jetson Orin AGX, you have multiple options to use the board:

Use the username and password previously selected to connect over SSH to the corresponding IP (normally 192.168.55.1 over the USB connection).
Connect over the UART connection opened by attaching the micro-USB, for example, minicom: sudo minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0 -b 115200 and use the same username and password
Connect over display.

Installing the Driver - JetPack sources patch

Download the JetPack sources

You can obtain the JetPack 5.0.2 DP sources by doing the following:

1. Go to https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/jetson-linux-archive and download the source files for your release.

2. Extract the .tbz2 file:

tar -xjf public_sources.tbz2

3. Extract the kernel source file:

cd Linux_for_Tegra/source/public
JETSON_SOURCES=$PWD
tar –xjf kernel_src.tbz2

This extracts the kernel source to the kernel/ subdirectory.

Patch instructions

Download the patches

RidgeRun has created a repository from where you can download the patch files.

You need to clone it and use the branch for the jetpack.

cd $HOME
git clone https://github.com/RidgeRun/NVIDIA-Jetson-IMX477-RPIV3.git -b jetpack-5.0.2

Once you have downloaded the repository, copy the files to the $JETSON_SOURCES directory:

KERNEL_PATCH=$(pwd)/NVIDIA-Jetson-IMX477-RPIV3/
cp $KERNEL_PATCH/patches_orin/5.0.2_agx_imx477_v0.1.patch $JETSON_SOURCES/

Apply the patches

cd $JETSON_SOURCES
git apply 5.0.2_agx_imx477_v0.1.patch

Kernel build instructions

Once the sources have been patched, perform the following steps in order to build and install the driver.

Install the Toolchain

First, download the Bootlin toolchain binaries from the NVIDIA Jetson Linux home page. Go to the bottom of the page and click on the Bootlin Toolchain gcc option as shown in the image below:

After that do:

mkdir $HOME/l4t-gcc
cd $HOME/l4t-gcc
tar xf <path_to_toolchain_archive>

Build the kernel

Establish the building paths and create directories:

KERNEL_OUT=$JETSON_SOURCES/kernel_out
MODULES_OUT=$JETSON_SOURCES/modules_out
mkdir -p $KERNEL_OUT
mkdir -p $MODULES_OUT

Use the following command to install dependencies on Ubuntu:

sudo apt install libncurses-dev

Export environment variables:

export CROSS_COMPILE_AARCH64_PATH=$HOME/l4t-gcc
export CROSS_COMPILE_AARCH64=$HOME/l4t-gcc/bin/aarch64-buildroot-linux-gnu-

Compile kernel:

cd $JETSON_SOURCES
./nvbuild.sh -o $KERNEL_OUT

Install the modules

make -C $JETSON_SOURCES/kernel/kernel-5.10/ ARCH=arm64 O=$KERNEL_OUT LOCALVERSION=-tegra INSTALL_MOD_PATH=$MODULES_OUT modules_install

Flash the Jetson

We present two methods to install the customized kernel, one requires a complete flash, and the other is for quick updating while developing.

Complete flash

Update the Linux_for_Tegra directory

# Copy the new compiled kernel.
cp -r $KERNEL_OUT/arch/arm64/boot/Image $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/kernel/

# Copy all new compiled DTBs and DTB overlays. 
cp -r $KERNEL_OUT/arch/arm64/boot/dts/nvidia/* $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/kernel/dtb/

# Update rootfs with compiled modules, which include the driver.
rsync -azPu $MODULES_OUT/lib/modules/5.10.104-tegra $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/lib/modules/

# Update the rootfs with all the binaries (to make sure the /boot/ folder is updated too).
cd $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra
sudo ./apply_binaries.sh

# Copy the module to the correct location.
sudo cp $KERNEL_OUT/drivers/media/i2c/nv_imx477.ko $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/lib/modules/5.10.104-tegra/kernel/drivers/media/i2c/

Flash

Finally, flash the driver

sudo ./flash.sh jetson-agx-orin-devkit mmcblk0p1

Manual installation

Update the kernel and DTB files used by /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf when there is an already running board. This assumes that the Jetson can be reach by SSH using:

ssh jetson

Updating the kernel

Updating the kernel is as simple as copying into the board:

# Update Image on Linux_for_Tegra folder just to sync the flash folders
sudo cp -rfv $KERNEL_OUT/arch/arm64/boot/Image $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/kernel/

# Copy the Image to the tmp folder on the board
scp $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/kernel/Image jetson:/tmp/

# Copy the Image to the boot directory on the board
sudo mv /tmp/Image /boot/Image

Updating the DTB

The new JetPack uses the FDT property of the /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf file, and it sets it to a device tree located in /boot/dtb/ with a prefix of kernel_tegra. We can update this DTB with the following:

# Update on Linux_for_Tegra folder with the new DTBs and overlays
sudo cp -rfv $KERNEL_OUT/arch/arm64/boot/dts/nvidia/* $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/kernel/dtb/

# Generate required prefixed DTB using flash script with no flash option
cd  $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra
sudo ./flash.sh -r --no-flash jetson-agx-orin-devkit mmcblk0p1

# Copy the device tree to the board
scp $JETPACK_DIR/Linux_for_Tegra/bootloader/kernel_tegra234-p3701-0000-p3737-0000.dtb jetson:/tmp/

# Update the device tree on the board
sudo mv /tmp/kernel_tegra234-p3701-0000-p3737-0000.dtb /boot/dtb/

Updating modules

Inside the board run the following to update the modules folder, copying them from the host:

HOST_NAME=host
HOST_IP=192.168.55.100
cd /lib/modules/
sudo rsync -azPu $HOST_NAME@$HOST_IP:$MODULES_OUT/lib/modules/5.10.104-tegra .

ISP camera overrides installation

Please, visit the Custom ISP Configuration page in order to learn how to use the camera_overrides.isp file to configure the ISP.

Supported Features

Resolutions and framerates

1920x1080 @ 60fps
3840x2160 @ 30fps

Controls

Gain
Exposure
Framerate
Group Hold

Example Pipelines

Find some example pipelines to use the IMX477 on Jetson Xavier NX below:

Display

1920x1080

SENSOR_ID=0 # 0 to 2 depending on cam port. 
FRAMERATE=60 # Framerate can go from 2 to 60 for 1920x1080 mode
gst-launch-1.0 nvarguscamerasrc sensor-id=$SENSOR_ID ! "video/x-raw(memory:NVMM),width=1920,height=1080,framerate=$FRAMERATE/1" ! nvvidconv ! nvoverlaysink

3840x2160

SENSOR_ID=0 # 0 to 2 depending on cam port. 
FRAMERATE=30 # Framerate can go from 2 to 30 for 3840x2160 mode
gst-launch-1.0 nvarguscamerasrc sensor-id=$SENSOR_ID ! "video/x-raw(memory:NVMM),width=3840,height=2160,framerate=$FRAMERATE/1" ! nvvidconv ! "video/x-raw(memory:NVMM),width=1920,height=1080,framerate=$FRAMERATE/1" ! nvoverlaysink

MP4 Recording

1920x1080

SENSOR_ID=0 # 0 to 2 depending on cam port. 
FRAMERATE=60 # Framerate can go from 2 to 60 for 1920x1080 mode
gst-launch-1.0 -e nvarguscamerasrc sensor-id=$SENSOR_ID ! "video/x-raw(memory:NVMM),width=1920,height=1080,framerate=$FRAMERATE/1" ! nvv4l2h264enc ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=rpi_v3_imx477_cam$SENSOR_ID.mp4

3840x2160

SENSOR_ID=0 # 0 to 2 depending on cam port. 
FRAMERATE=30 # Framerate can go from 2 to 30 for 3840x2160 mode
gst-launch-1.0 -e nvarguscamerasrc sensor-id=$SENSOR_ID ! "video/x-raw(memory:NVMM),width=3840,height=2160,framerate=$FRAMERATE/1" ! nvv4l2h264enc ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=rpi_v3_imx477_cam$SENSOR_ID.mp4

JPEG snapshots

1920x1080

SENSOR_ID=0 # 0 to 2 depending on cam port. 
FRAMERATE=60 # Framerate can go from 2 to 60 for 1920x1080 mode
NUMBER_OF_SNAPSHOTS=20
gst-launch-1.0 -e nvarguscamerasrc num-buffers=$NUMBER_OF_SNAPSHOTS sensor-id=$SENSOR_ID ! "video/x-raw(memory:NVMM),width=1920,height=1080,framerate=$FRAMERATE/1" ! nvjpegenc ! multifilesink location=%03d_rpi_v3_imx477_cam$SENSOR_ID.jpeg

3840x2160

SENSOR_ID=0 # 0 to 2 depending on cam port. 
FRAMERATE=30 # Framerate can go from 2 to 30 for 3840x2160 mode
NUMBER_OF_SNAPSHOTS=20
gst-launch-1.0 -e nvarguscamerasrc num-buffers=$NUMBER_OF_SNAPSHOTS sensor-id=$SENSOR_ID ! "video/x-raw(memory:NVMM),width=3840,height=2160,framerate=$FRAMERATE/1" ! nvjpegenc ! multifilesink location=%03d_rpi_v3_imx477_cam$SENSOR_ID.jpeg

For direct inquiries, please refer to the contact information available on our Contact page. Alternatively, you may complete and submit the form provided at the same link. We will respond to your request at our earliest opportunity.

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Previous: Video Capture and Display

Index

Next: GStreamer Pipelines

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Introduction to Sony IMX477 Linux driver

Raspberry Pi HQ camera

Camera Features

Sony IMX477 Basic Drive Mode

Compatibility with NVIDIA®Jetson™ Platforms

R8 resistor

Auvidea J20 adapter

IMX477 Linux driver for NVIDIA®Jetson Orin™

Download JetPack

Recovery Mode for Jetson Orin AGX

Installing the Driver - JetPack sources patch

Download the JetPack sources

Patch instructions

Download the patches

Apply the patches

Kernel build instructions

Install the Toolchain

Build the kernel

Flash the Jetson

Complete flash

Manual installation

Updating modules

ISP camera overrides installation

Supported Features

Resolutions and framerates

Controls

Example Pipelines

Display

1920x1080

3840x2160

MP4 Recording

1920x1080

3840x2160

JPEG snapshots

1920x1080

3840x2160

COMPANY

SUPPORT

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Compatibility with NVIDIA^®Jetson™ Platforms

IMX477 Linux driver for NVIDIA^®Jetson Orin™