Stream cameras - Qualcomm Dragonwing Documentation

QCS6490IQ-9075-EVKIQ-8275-EVKIQ615Stable

MIPI CSI

Multi-platform support

GMSL

Quad deserializer

GStreamer

Primary API

V4L2

Driver API

This page describes how to connect camera sensors to your reference hardware platform and provides information about available APIs.

Before using the camera APIs, verify that the target platform is running a supported QLI 2.0 image. Factory and pre-QLI 2.0 images may require different camera support and verification steps.

01 · Set up the camera

QCS6490
IQ-9075-EVK
IQ-8275-EVK
IQ615
IQx7181

QCS6490 Camera Topology

Default camera modules

OV9282
IMX577

RB3G2 Vision Mezzanine: MIPI CSI

Camera Connections

Slot	Sensor	Status
CAM0A	OV9282	Supported
CAM3	IMX577	Supported

Connect:

OV9282 → CAM0A
IMX577 → CAM3

SW2300 DIP Switch on Interposer Board

Slot	SW2300 Switch 1	Default	Function
CAM0A	Not required	N/A	Works without DIP setting
CAM3	OFF	OFF	Enables CAM3 use

To use the CAM3 slot on the vision mezzanine board, SW2300 switch 1 must be OFF. This is the default state. CAM0A works without any DIP switch setting.

RB3G2 Vision Mezzanine: GMSL

There are two GMSL slots on the vision mezzanine board:

GMSL1
GMSL2

Slot	Shared CSI	Switch Required	Default State	Status
GMSL1	No	None	N/A	Supported
GMSL2	Shares CSI with CAM3	SW2300 switch 1 = ON	OFF	Supported

Important

GMSL1 works without any hardware setting
CAM3 CSI and GMSL2 share the same CSI path
To use GMSL2, set SW2300 switch 1 to ON
Default state of SW2300 switch 1 is OFF

RB3G2 Interposer Board: MIPI CSI

Camera Connections

Slot	Sensor	Status
CAM1	OV9282	Supported
CAM2	IMX577	Supported

Connect:

OV9282 → CAM1
IMX577 → CAM2

DIP Switch Settings

Switch	Setting	Default	Purpose
CSI1_DIP_SW	ON	OFF	Enables CAM1
CSI2_DIP_SW	ON	OFF	Enables CAM2

Set CSI1_DIP_SW and CSI2_DIP_SW to ON to use CAM1 and CAM2 on the interposer board. Default state is OFF.

Supported Features

Feature	IMX577 (CAM3)	OV9282 (CAM0A)	AR0231 (GMSL)
SHDR	Yes	No	No
LDC	Yes	No	No
EIS	Yes	No	No

IQ-9075-EVK Camera Topology

IQ-9075-EVK is offered as the core kit. The core kit supports MIPI CSI cameras only. GMSL cameras require a separate GMSL mezzanine board connected to the core kit.

Interface	Hardware Path	Status
MIPI CSI	Core kit / main board	Supported
GMSL	External GMSL mezzanine	Supported via add-on board

In the IQ-9075-EVK hardware stack:

The core kit / main board exposes four MIPI CSI (C/D-PHY) connectors
The GMSL mezzanine board exposes four GMSL ports (0 to 3)

GMSL Port Map

There are four GMSL ports (0 to 3) on the GMSL mezzanine board.

Important

GMSL port numbering is not sequential
Port numbers are assigned based on the CSI index to which the GMSL port is connected
Each GMSL port connects to a MAX96724 quad GMSL deserializer
Each deserializer is connected to one CSI

Port	Deserializer	Status	Sensor Class
Port-0	MAX96724	Enabled	OX03F10 Bayer
Port-1	MAX96724	Disabled	Not enabled in this release
Port-2	MAX96724	Enabled	OX03F10 YUV
Port-3	MAX96724	Enabled	OX03F10 YUV

Current release status

Port-0, Port-2, and Port-3 are enabled for GMSL cameras
Port-1 is not enabled

Port Capacity

Each GMSL port contains four slots (also referred to as channels) numbered 1 to 4.

Item	Value
Slots per GMSL port	4
Channel range	1 to 4
Cameras per port	Up to 4

Sensor Support by Port

Port	Supported Sensor	Resolution / FPS	Capacity
Port-0	OX03F10 Bayer GMSL	1824 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	4 cameras
Port-2	OX03F10 YUV GMSL	1920 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	4 cameras
Port-3	OX03F10 YUV GMSL	1920 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	4 cameras

DIP Switch Setup

IQ-9075-EVK has four CSI PHYs. Each CSI PHY can be routed to either a MIPI camera port or a GMSL camera port using the DIP switch on the core kit / main board.The switch assignment differs between EVT and DVT/PVT hardware.

EVT Hardware
DVT/PVT Hardware

DIP switch setting for IQ-9075-EVK EVT hardware:

Switch	OFF (Default)	ON	Connection When ON	Connection When OFF
SW2-1	HIGH	LOW	CSI0 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI0 → main board
SW2-2	HIGH	LOW	CSI1 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI1 → main board
SW2-3	HIGH	LOW	CSI2 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI2 → main board
SW2-4	HIGH	LOW	CSI3 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI3 → main board

DIP switch setting for IQ-9075-EVK DVT/PVT hardware:

Switch	ON	OFF (Default)
SW1-5	CSI0 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI0 → main board
SW1-6	CSI1 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI1 → main board
SW1-7	CSI2 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI2 → main board
SW1-8	CSI3 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI3 → main board

Concurrent Camera Support

MIPI Support

The software supports the OV9282 MIPI camera.

MIPI Camera	Supported Resolution / FPS	CAM0	CAM1	CAM2	CAM3	Notes
OV9282	1280 × 720 @ 30 FPS	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported	Any camera can operate independently. A maximum of two cameras can run concurrently with real-time IFE. All four cameras can run concurrently with the Offline IFE feature.

GMSL Support

The software supports OX03F10 Bayer and OX03F10 YUV GMSL cameras.

Known Issue: YUV 3F10 GMSL camera usecase on Port-2 and Port-3 is not supported in this release.

GMSL Port	Supported Resolution / FPS	Sensor	Notes
Port-0	1824 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 Bayer	Four OX03F10 Bayer GMSL cameras can be connected on Port-0. Any one camera can operate independently. All four cameras on a single port can run concurrently using the Per Port Group feature.
Port-2	1920 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV	Four OX03F10 YUV GMSL cameras can be connected on Port-2. Any one camera can operate independently. All four cameras on a single port can run concurrently using the Per Port Group feature.
Port-3	1920 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV	Four OX03F10 YUV GMSL cameras can be connected on Port-3. Any one camera can operate independently. All four cameras on a single port can run concurrently using the Per Port Group feature.
Port-2 + Port-3	1920 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV	Eight OX03F10 YUV GMSL cameras can be connected, four on Port-2 and four on Port-3. Any one camera from each port can operate independently. All eight cameras can run concurrently using the Per Port Group feature.

GMSL + MIPI Concurrency

CAM0	CAM1	GMSL Port-2	GMSL Port-3	Notes
OV9282 1280 × 720 @ 30 FPS	OV9282 1280 × 720 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV 1920 × 1080 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV 1920 × 1080 @ 30 FPS	Any camera can operate independently. All four cameras can operate concurrently.

IQ-8275-EVK Camera Topology

IQ-8275-EVK is offered in the core kit. The core kit supports MIPI CSI cameras. GMSL cameras require a separate GMSL mezzanine board connected to the core kit.

Interface	Hardware Path	Status
MIPI CSI	Main board	Supported
GMSL	GMSL mezzanine	Supported via add-on board

GMSL Port Map

There are four GMSL ports (0 to 3) on the GMSL mezzanine board.

Important

GMSL port numbering is not sequential
Port numbers are defined by the CSI index to which the GMSL port is connected
Ports 0, 1, and 2 each connect to a MAX96724 quad GMSL deserializer
Each deserializer is connected to one CSI
Port-3 is a dummy port

Port	Deserializer	Status	Sensor Class
Port-0	MAX96724	Supported	OX03F10 Bayer
Port-1	MAX96724	Disabled	Hardware issue
Port-2	MAX96724	Supported	OX03F10 YUV
Port-3	—	Dummy	No support

Current release status

Port-0 and Port-2 are supported for GMSL cameras
Port-1 is not enabled due to a hardware issue
Port-3 is a dummy port

Port Capacity

Each GMSL port contains four slots (also referred to as channels) numbered 1 to 4.

Item	Value
Slots per GMSL port	4
Channel range	1 to 4
Cameras per port	Up to 4
Port-0 sensor support	OX03F10 Bayer GMSL
Port-2 sensor support	OX03F10 YUV GMSL

DIP Switch Setup

IQ-8275-EVK has three CSI PHYs. Each CSI PHY can be routed to either a MIPI camera port or a GMSL camera port using the DIP switch on the core kit/main board.The switch assignment differs for EVT and DVT/PVT hardware.

EVT Hardware
DVT / PVT Hardware

DIP switch setting on IQ-8275-EVK EVT hardware:

Switch	ON	OFF (Default)
SW2-1	CSI0 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI0 → main board
SW2-2	CSI1 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI1 → main board
SW2-3	CSI2 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI2 → main board

DIP switch setting on IQ-8275-EVK DVT/PVT hardware:

Switch	ON	OFF (Default)
SW1-5	CSI0 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI0 → main board
SW1-6	CSI1 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI1 → main board
SW1-7	CSI2 → GMSL mezzanine	CSI2 → main board

Concurrent Camera Support

MIPI Support

The software supports the OV9282 MIPI camera.

MIPI Camera	Supported Resolution / FPS	CAM0	CAM1	CAM2	Notes
OV9282	1280 × 720 @ 30 FPS	Supported	Supported	Supported	Any camera can operate independently. Up to two cameras can run concurrently with real-time IFE. All three cameras can run concurrently using Offline IFE.

GMSL Support

The software supports OX03F10 Bayer and OX03F10 YUV GMSL cameras.

Known Issue: YUV 3F10 GMSL camera usecase on Port-2 is not supported in this release.

GMSL Port	Supported Resolution / FPS	Sensor	Notes
Port-0	1824 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 Bayer	Four Bayer GMSL cameras can be connected on Port-0. Any one camera can operate independently. All four cameras on a single port can run concurrently using the Per Port Group feature.
Port-2	1920 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV	Four YUV GMSL cameras can be connected on Port-2. Any one camera can operate independently. All four cameras on a single port can run concurrently using the Per Port Group feature.

GMSL Port-0 + Port-2 Concurrency

Configuration	Status	Notes
4× OX03F10 Bayer on Port-0 + 4× OX03F10 YUV on Port-2	Supported	All eight cameras can run concurrently using the Per Port Group feature
Independent camera on each port	Supported	Any one camera from each port can operate independently
Full 8-camera concurrency on IQ-8275-EVK	Stable	All eight cameras can run concurrently

GMSL + MIPI Concurrency

GMSL Port-0	MIPI	GMSL Port-2	Status
OX03F10 Bayer 1824 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OV9282 1280 × 720 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV 1920 × 1080 @ 30 FPS	Supported
OV9282 1280 × 720 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 Bayer 1824 × 1536 @ 30 FPS	OX03F10 YUV 1920 × 1080 @ 30 FPS	Supported

Rule: Any camera can operate independently. Result: All three cameras can run concurrently.

IQ615 EVK Camera Topology

The IQ615 EVK supports MIPI CSI cameras. GMSL is routed through a dedicated interface.

Board Overview

Interface	Connector	Lane Count	Default State	Status
CSI0	22-pin CSI	2-lane	Enabled	Supported
CSI1	22-pin CSI	4-lane	Routed to GMSL by default	Supported via SW13
GMSL	Dedicated GMSL slot	—	Available	Enabled

Important

The IQ615 EVK does not ship with a default sensor connection
CSI0 requires no DIP switch configuration
CSI1 uses SW13 for path selection

CSI1 Path Selection

SW13 controls CSI1 routing.

SW13 Setting	CSI1 Routing	Result
OFF	GMSL deserializer path	CSI1 configured for GMSL
ON	22-pin camera connector path	CSI1 configured for MIPI

Default state: SW13 is OFF

CSI1 defaults to the GMSL path
CSI1 can be switched to MIPI by setting SW13 to ON

GMSL Interface

Item	Status
GMSL slot	Present
Additional hardware config	Not required
Current release support	Enabled

Switch Configuration

Carrier Board Function	Switch	Configuration	Comment
Enable MIPI for CSI1	SW13 OFF	GMSL deserializer → CSI1	Default state
Enable MIPI for CSI1	SW13 ON	22-pin camera connector → CSI1	Switch to MIPI path

Summary

Path	CSI0	CSI1	GMSL
MIPI	Direct use	Enabled via SW13 ON	Enabled
GMSL	Not applicable	Default path via SW13 OFF	Present and Enabled

IQx7181 EVK provides multiple camera serial interface (CSI) connectors, supporting camera modules with different PHY types and lane configurations. This enables flexible camera connectivity for bring-up and validation use cases.

Interface summary

The following table provides a summary of interface configurations.

CSI Interface	Sensor	PHY Type	Notes
CSI0	OG0VA1B	D-PHY	1-lane
CSI1	IMX766 / IMX577	C-PHY / D-PHY	30-pin (default) or 22-pin via SW2-6
CSI2	IMX766	C-PHY	N/A
CSI4	IMX688	C-PHY	N/A

Supported CSI interfaces

The available CSI interfaces on the IQx7181 EVK are:

CSI0
CSI1
CSI2
CSI4

The following image shows the CSI connector layout on the IQx7181 EVK board.

CSI interface details

CSI0 interface

Connected sensor: OG0VA1B
Lane configuration: 1-lane
PHY type: D-PHY

CSI4 interface

Connected sensor: IMX688
PHY type: C-PHY

CSI1 and CSI2 interfaces

Default connected sensor: IMX766 (C-PHY)
Optional configuration: CSI1 can connect to a 22-pin D-PHY IMX577 sensor

Configure CSI1 connector (30-pin and 22-pin)

The CSI1 interface supports two physical connector types:

30-pin connector
22-pin connector

Select the active connector on CSI1 using switch SW2-6 as described in the following table.

SW2-6 position	Active connector
OFF (default)	30-pin connector
ON	22-pin connector

The default configuration is SW2-6 = OFF, which enables the 30-pin CSI1 connector.

Use IMX577 sensor with CSI1

When connecting an IMX577 image sensor:

Use the CSI1 22-pin interface.
Set SW2-6 to ON to enable the 22-pin connector.
Connect the sensor using a 22-pin Type-B FFC/FPC cable.
Ensure the cable orientation and pin alignment are correct before powering on the system.

02 · Choose the stream API

Qualcomm Linux supports the following APIs for camera:

GStreamer API

GStreamer is an open-source multimedia framework. Qualcomm provides a GStreamer plugin (qtiqmmfsrc) that allows developers to control the camera subsystem in applications. See Qualcomm GStreamer plugins for more information.

V4L2 API

V4L2 is a framework within the Linux kernel that provides support for video capture, video output, and other multimedia devices. Developers can operate the camera using the V4L2 API. The V4L2 API, which uses the CAMSS driver, is suitable for developers who only need to obtain raw images from the camera.

03 · Stream camera with the GStreamer API

gst-launch-1.0 is a command-line GStreamer utility used to build and run a GStreamer pipeline. The pipeline is specified as a collection of elements with properties separated by exclamation marks (!).

Prerequisites

To use gst-launch-1.0 and GStreamer plugins, flash the Config2 image. For overlay configuration details, see Overlay Configurations.

Connect to the device console using SSH. See How To SSH? for instructions.

🗑️ Clear GStreamer Registry

Clear GStreamer registry (if needed)

If a GStreamer command was executed before enabling the camera overlay, the GStreamer registry must be cleared after enabling the camera overlay. Run the following command to clear the registry:

Terminal

rm ~/.cache/gstreamer-1.0/registry.aarch64.bin

📉 Tune Log Level

Log Level Tuning (if needed)

Camera use-cases are expected to run on a performance (perf) build for optimal results. On default builds, reduce the kernel console log level as shown below:

Terminal

echo 4 > /proc/sys/kernel/printk

⚡ Activate Adreno OpenCL for cam-server

Activate Adreno OpenCL for cam-server (For Advanced Camera Use-cases only)

Before running any Advanced camera use cases like SHDRv2, SHDRv3, Defog, etc., configure the cam-server systemd service to use the Adreno OpenCL ICD library.

🛠️ Open the service override

Edit the qti-cam-server systemd unit so it can load a custom environment file.

Terminal

systemctl edit --full qti-cam-server

Add this line under the [Service] section:

Terminal

EnvironmentFile=/etc/qti-cam-server-env

Save and exit.

⚙️ Point to Adreno OpenCL

Set the OpenCL ICD path used by qti-cam-server.

Terminal

echo "OCL_ICD_FILENAMES=/usr/lib/libOpenCL_adreno.so.1" > /etc/qti-cam-server-env

🔄 Reload and restart

Apply the updated service configuration and restart qti-cam-server.

Terminal

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart qti-cam-server

Run camera use cases

QCS6490
IQ-9075-EVK
IQ-8275-EVK
IQ615
IQx7181

Ensure that MIPI cameras are connected to CSI slots. The OV9282 MIPI camera should be connected to the CAM 0A slot and the IMX577 MIPI camera should be connected to the CAM3 slot.

Single camera stream start

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Fakesink)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! 'video/x-raw,format=NV12,\
width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1' ! fakesink

Verify pipeline status

This command starts the camera with 720p at 30 FPS configuration. The frame coming from the camera sensor is thrown away by fakesink. If the gst pipeline status is changed to “PLAYING” as shown below, this indicates that the camera is running. Since this command dumps camera frames to fakesink, nothing will be saved on the device.

Log Output

gbm_create_device(187): Info: backend name is: msm_drm
Setting pipeline to PAUSED ...
Pipeline is live and does not need PREROLL ...
Setting pipeline to PLAYING ...
New clock: GstSystemClock

To stop the camera, press CTRL+C.

Video encoding

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (MP4 Record)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! \
video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1,\
interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! v4l2h264enc \
capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=6000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=/opt/mux_avc.mp4

This command starts the camera with 720p at 30 FPS configuration and saves it as a video file after h264 video encoding. If the gst pipeline status is changed to “PLAYING”, this indicates the camera is running.To stop the camera, press CTRL+C.

Pull recorded content

/opt/mux_avc.mp4 is generated on the device. The recorded content can be pulled from the device by running the following scp command on the host PC:

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/mux_avc.mp4 .

Video encoding and snapshot

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Snapshot + Video)

gst-pipeline-app -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! \
video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1,\
interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! v4l2h264enc \
capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=6000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=/opt/mux_avc.mp4 \
camsrc.image_1 ! "image/jpeg,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1" \
! multifilesink location=/opt/frame%d.jpg async=false sync=true enable-last-sample=false

Navigate the menu

Press Enter. This command will print the following menu and wait for user input.

##################################### MENU #####################################
============================== Pipeline Controls==============================
(0) NULL: Set the pipeline into NULL state
(1) READY: Set the pipeline into READY state
(2) PAUSED: Set the pipeline into PAUSED state
(3) PLAYING: Set the pipeline into PLAYING state
==================================== Other====================================
(p) Plugin Mode: Choose a plugin which to control
(q) Quit : Exit the application
Choose an option:

Take a snapshot

Use the following menu steps to take a snapshot while recording video.

Menu Steps

(1) ready -> (3) Playing -> (p)Plugin Mode : Select (8)camerasrc -> (37) capture-image -> (1): still - Snapshot ->(1) Snapshot count ( 'guint' value for arg1)

Stop and retrieve files

To stop the camera, press Enter, press b (back), and then press q (quit). The recorded video file and snapshot images are saved in /opt/. The recorded content can be pulled from the device by running the following scp command on the host PC:

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/<file name> .

MIPI multi-camera streaming

QCS6490 has five CSI PHYs to which you can connect five MIPI cameras.QCS6490 has three IFEs and two IFE Lites. This means you can run three cameras with IFEs and two cameras with IFE Lites. IFE Lites only support raw dumps from the sensor. You can connect mono cameras to the IFE Lites, dump raw frames, and then convert the output to YUV frames using a CHI node.To validate five camera concurrency on the RB3 platform:

Connect MIPI cameras

Connect MIPI cameras as described in the following table.

Slot	Camera sensor
CAM 0A	OV9282 mono camera
CAM 0B	OV9282 mono camera
CAM1	IMX577 bayer camera
CAM2	IMX577 bayer camera
CAM3	IMX577 bayer camera

Run GST commands for all five cameras concurrently

For OV9282 mono cameras, a separate camera pipeline (RealTimeMonoToYUV) is used. This pipeline uses IFE Lites to dump the raw frame and then convert it to a YUV frame using a CHI node. Use the GST parameter ife-direct-stream=1 to use this camera pipeline. Since it runs with an IFE Lite, 2A is not applied on these cameras.

The QCS6490 maximum encode capability is 4K@30. Thus, the total encode processing from all five cameras has to be under the 4k@30 limit.

Cam 0: IMX577

GStreamer (Cam 0)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1920,height=1080,\
framerate=30/1 ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=5000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! queue ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location=/opt/Cam_0_1080p.mp4

Cam 1: IMX577

GStreamer (Cam 1)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=1 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1920,height=1080,\
framerate=30/1 ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=5000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! queue ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location=/opt/Cam_1_1080p.mp4

Cam 8: IMX577

GStreamer (Cam 8)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=8 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1920,height=1080,\
framerate=30/1 ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=5000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! queue ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location=/opt/Cam_8_1080p.mp4

Cam 2: OV9282

GStreamer (Cam 2)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=2 ife-direct-stream=1 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,\
framerate=30/1 ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=5000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! queue ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location=/opt/Cam_2_720p.mp4

Cam 3: OV9282

GStreamer (Cam 3)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=3 ife-direct-stream=1 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,\
framerate=30/1 ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=5000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! queue ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location=/opt/Cam_3_720p.mp4

Ensure that the camera (MIPI or GMSL) sensor is connected to the IQ-9075-EVK device. You can connect OV9282 MIPI cameras on CSI slots. Connect OX03f10 Bayer GMSL cameras to GMSL Port-0 and OX03f10 YUV GMSL cameras to Port-2 and Port-3.

Single camera stream start

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Fakesink)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! 'video/x-raw,format=NV12,\
width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1' ! fakesink

Verify pipeline status

The following command starts the camera with 720p at 30 FPS configuration. The frame coming from the camera sensor is thrown away by fakesink. If the gst pipeline status is changed to “PLAYING” as shown below, this indicates that the camera is running. Since this command dumps camera frames to fakesink, nothing will be saved on the device.

Log Output

gbm_create_device(187): Info: backend name is: msm_drm
Setting pipeline to PAUSED ...
Pipeline is live and does not need PREROLL ...
Setting pipeline to PLAYING ...
New clock: GstSystemClock

To stop the camera, press CTRL+C.

Video encoding

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (MP4 Record)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! \
video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1,\
interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! v4l2h264enc \
capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=6000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=/opt/mux_avc.mp4

Pull recorded content

/opt/mux_avc.mp4 is generated on the device. The recorded content can be pulled from the device by running the following scp command on the host PC:

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/mux_avc.mp4 .

Video encoding and snapshot

IQ-9075-EVK doesn’t have a hardware JPEG encoder. The snapshot use case works using a software JPEG encoder algorithm that runs on the CPU.

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Snapshot + Video)

gst-pipeline-app -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,\
framerate=30/1,interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! queue ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 \
output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate_mode=0,video_bitrate=6000000;" ! queue ! \
h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location="/opt/mux_720_avc.mp4" camsrc.image_1 ! "image/jpeg,\
width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1" ! multifilesink location=/opt/frame%d.jpg async=false sync=true \
enable-last-sample=false

Navigate the menu

Press Enter. This command will print the following menu and wait for user input.

##################################### MENU #####################################
============================== Pipeline Controls==============================
(0)       NULL: Set the pipeline into NULL state
(1)       READY: Set the pipeline into READY state
(2)       PAUSED: Set the pipeline into PAUSED state
(3)       PLAYING: Set the pipeline into PLAYING state
==================================== Other====================================
(p)       Plugin Mode: Choose a plugin which to control
(q)       Quit : Exit the application

Choose an option:

Take a snapshot

Use the following menu steps to take a snapshot while recording video.

Menu Steps

(1) ready -> (3) Playing -> (p)Plugin Mode : Select (11)camerasrc ->
(38) capture-image -> (1): still - Snapshot ->(1) Snapshot count ( 'guint' value for arg1)

Stop and retrieve files

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/<file name> .

MIPI multi-camera streaming

There are four MIPI CSI slots present on the IQ-9075-EVK main board. Connect OV9282 cameras to MIPI CSI ports. You can run any two OV9282 cameras concurrently out of four cameras.Run the following GST command in two different terminals with camera = 0, 1 to validate MIPI camera concurrency. Use different file names when saving the encoded file of each camera.

GStreamer (Dual MIPI)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! \
video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1,\
interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! v4l2h264enc \
capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls, video_bitrate=6000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=/opt/mux_avc.mp4

You can also run all four MIPI cameras concurrently using the offline IFE feature. Refer to Support multi-camera using offline IFE for information on four camera validation.

GMSL multi-camera streaming

A single GMSL port contains four slots, allowing connection of four GMSL cameras to a single CSI using different virtual channel IDs. The four cameras connected on one CSI are treated as group. A group of cameras can be run concurrently using the per port grouping feature.

Ensure that the camera (MIPI or GMSL) sensor is connected to the IQ-8275-EVK device. You can connect OV9282 MIPI cameras on CSI slots. Connect OX03f10 bayer GMSL cameras to GMSL Port-0 and OX03f10 YUV GMSL cameras to GMSL Port-2.

Single camera stream start

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Fakesink)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! 'video/x-raw,format=NV12,\
width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1' ! fakesink

Verify pipeline status

Log Output

gbm_create_device(187): Info: backend name is: msm_drm
Setting pipeline to PAUSED ...
Pipeline is live and does not need PREROLL ...
Setting pipeline to PLAYING ...
New clock: GstSystemClock

To stop the camera, press CTRL+C.

Video encoding

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (MP4 Record)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! \
video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1,\
interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! v4l2h264enc \
capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=6000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=/opt/mux_avc.mp4

Pull recorded content

/opt/mux_avc.mp4 is generated on the device. The recorded content can be pulled from the device by running the following scp command on the host PC:

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/mux_avc.mp4 .

Video encoding and snapshot

IQ-8275-EVK doesn’t have a hardware JPEG encoder. The snapshot use case works using a software JPEG encoder algorithm that runs on the CPU.

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Snapshot + Video)

gst-pipeline-app -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,\
framerate=30/1,interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! queue ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 \
output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate_mode=0,video_bitrate=6000000;" ! queue ! \
h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location="/opt/mux_720_avc.mp4" camsrc.image_1 ! "image/jpeg,\
width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1" ! multifilesink location=/opt/frame%d.jpg async=false sync=true \
enable-last-sample=false

Navigate the menu

Press Enter. This command will print the following menu and wait for user input.

##################################### MENU #####################################
============================== Pipeline Controls==============================
(0)       NULL: Set the pipeline into NULL state
(1)       READY: Set the pipeline into READY state
(2)       PAUSED: Set the pipeline into PAUSED state
(3)       PLAYING: Set the pipeline into PLAYING state
==================================== Other====================================
(p)       Plugin Mode: Choose a plugin which to control
(q)       Quit : Exit the application

Choose an option:

Take a snapshot

Use the following menu steps to take a snapshot while recording video.

Menu Steps

(1) ready -> (3) Playing -> (p)Plugin Mode : Select (11)camerasrc ->
(38) capture-image -> (1): still - Snapshot ->(1) Snapshot count ( 'guint' value for arg1)

Stop and retrieve files

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/<file name> .

MIPI multi-camera streaming

There are three MIPI CSI slots present on the IQ-8275-EVK main board. Connect OV9282 cameras to MIPI CSI ports. You can run any two OV9282 cameras concurrently.Run the following GST command in two different terminals with camera = 0, 1 to validate MIPI camera concurrency. Use different file names when saving the encoded file of each camera.

GStreamer (Dual MIPI)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! \
video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1,\
interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! v4l2h264enc \
capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls, video_bitrate=6000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=/opt/mux_avc.mp4

You can also run all three MIPI cameras concurrently using the offline IFE feature. Refer to Support multi-camera using offline IFE for information on three camera validation.

GMSL multi-camera streaming

Ensure that the camera MIPI sensor is connected to the IQ615 device. You can connect IMX577 MIPI cameras on CSI slots.

Single camera stream start

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Fakesink)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! 'video/x-raw,format=NV12,\
width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1' ! fakesink

Verify pipeline status

Log Output

gbm_create_device(187): Info: backend name is: msm_drm
Setting pipeline to PAUSED ...
Pipeline is live and does not need PREROLL ...
Setting pipeline to PLAYING ...
New clock: GstSystemClock

To stop the camera, press CTRL+C.

Video encoding

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (MP4 Record)

gst-launch-1.0 -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! \
video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1,\
interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! v4l2h264enc \
capture-io-mode=4 output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate=6000000,\
video_bitrate_mode=0;" ! h264parse ! mp4mux ! filesink location=/opt/mux_avc.mp4

Pull recorded content

/opt/mux_avc.mp4 is generated on the device. The recorded content can be pulled from the device by running the following scp command on the host PC:

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/mux_avc.mp4 .

Video encoding and snapshot

IQ615 doesn’t have a hardware JPEG encoder. The snapshot use case works using a software JPEG encoder algorithm that runs on the CPU.

Run the pipeline

Run the following command in the device terminal:

GStreamer (Snapshot + Video)

gst-pipeline-app -e qtiqmmfsrc name=camsrc camera=0 ! video/x-raw,format=NV12,width=1280,height=720,\
framerate=30/1,interlace-mode=progressive,colorimetry=bt601 ! queue ! v4l2h264enc capture-io-mode=4 \
output-io-mode=5 extra-controls="controls,video_bitrate_mode=0,video_bitrate=6000000;" ! queue ! \
h264parse ! mp4mux ! queue ! filesink location="/opt/mux_720_avc.mp4" camsrc.image_1 ! "image/jpeg,\
width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1" ! multifilesink location=/opt/frame%d.jpg async=false sync=true \
enable-last-sample=false

Navigate the menu

Press Enter. This command will print the following menu and wait for user input.

##################################### MENU #####################################
============================== Pipeline Controls==============================
(0)       NULL: Set the pipeline into NULL state
(1)       READY: Set the pipeline into READY state
(2)       PAUSED: Set the pipeline into PAUSED state
(3)       PLAYING: Set the pipeline into PLAYING state
==================================== Other====================================
(p)       Plugin Mode: Choose a plugin which to control
(q)       Quit : Exit the application

Choose an option:

Take a snapshot

Use the following menu steps to take a snapshot while recording video.

Menu Steps

(1) ready -> (3) Playing -> (p)Plugin Mode : Select (11)camerasrc ->
(38) capture-image -> (1): still - Snapshot ->(1) Snapshot count ( 'guint' value for arg1)

Stop and retrieve files

SCP (SSH)

$ scp -r root@[ip-addr]:/opt/<file name> .

Other GStreamer Samples

The QIM SDK includes GStreamer sample applications for camera and sample applications for AI/ML and other multimedia applications.

Before using the sample applications, ensure that the installation prerequisites for gst-launch-1.0 and GStreamer plugins are met.

See Multimedia use case examples for examples using gst-launch-1.0.

04 · Stream camera with the V4L2 API

To use the V4L2 API, flash the Config1 image. For overlay configuration details, see Overlay Configurations.

QCS6490
IQ-9075-EVK
IQ-8275-EVK
IQ615
IQx7181

Qualcomm supports the V4L2 interface camera ISP driver for raw frame dump functionality in the upstream kernel.

CAMSS driver

The Qualcomm camera subsystem (CAMSS) driver in the upstream kernel implements the V4L2, media controller, and V4L2 subdev interfaces.Camera sensors using the V4L2 subdev interface in the kernel are supported.The CAMSS driver consists of:

CSIPHY module – Handles the physical layer of the CSI2 receivers. A separate camera sensor can be connected to each CSIPHY module.
CSI Decoder (CSID) module – Handles the protocol and application layers of the CSI2 receivers. A CSID can decode a data stream from any CSIPHY.
Video Front End (VFE) module – Represents the Image Front End (IFE) that contains Raw Dump Interface (RDI) input interfaces that bypass the image processing pipeline. The VFE also contains the AXI bus interface which writes output data to memory.

The CAMSS driver implements the V4L2 interface. Each CSIPHY, CSID, and VFE module is represented by a single V4L2 sub-device.As shown in the following diagram, each CSIPHY can connect to each CSID. Each CSID can connect to each VFE. Each RDI port has an individual video node.

CAMSS V4L2 drivers are in <kernel_root>/drivers/media/platform/qcom/camss. <kernel_root> is the directory of the Linux kernel.

V4L2 sample application — Yavta

This section describes how to capture raw frame data using an application that supports the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM3 slot of the RB3 device.

Yavta is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify that the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

root@rb3gen2-core-kit:/# lsmod |grep -iE "qcom_camss|imx412"
imx412                 16384  0
qcom_camss            569344  20

The expected result is that the IMX412 sensor driver and qcom_camss camera subsystem modules are loaded successfully, confirming the upstream camera stack is active.

Check the media node number

Run the following command to print the media device node number for the CAMSS driver.If /dev/media0 does not list the qcom-camss driver, try it with /dev/media1.

Check Media Node

# media-ctl -p -d /dev/media0 | grep camss
driver       qcom-camss
bus info     platform:acaf000.camss

Check the media device graph

Run the following command to check the media device graph:

Media Device Graph

media-ctl -p -d /dev/media'x'

Find the sensor name

Run the following command to print the sensor name to the terminal:

Find Sensor

# cat /sys/dev/char/81\:*/name | grep imx
imx577 21-001a

Configure the media controller

The media controller utility (media-ctrl) is a V4L2 utility used to configure camera subsystem subdevices. Use media-ctl --help to print usage information.

Replace [x] with the number found via Check the media node number. For example, # media-ctl -d /dev/media1 --reset.

Reset all links to inactive:
Reset Links
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] --reset

Configure the camera sensor format and resolution on pipeline nodes:

Configure Sensor

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"imx577 17-001a":0[fmt:SRGGB10/4056x3040 field:none]'

Configure CSIPHY with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSIPHY

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy3":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy3":1[fmt: SRGGB10/4056x3040]'

Configure CSID with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSID

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/4056x3040] '
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":1[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure ISP with 3840x2160 resolution:

Configure ISP

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":1[fmt: SRGGB10/4056x3040]'

Link the pipeline:

Link Pipeline

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csiphy3":1->"msm_csid0":0[1]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csid0":1->"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[1]'

Capture images

The Yavta test application validates the camera using the V4L2 interface. Run Yavta to capture images:

Yavta Capture

# yavta -B capture-mplane -c -I -n 5 -f SRGGB10P -s 4056x3040 -F /dev/video0 --capture=5 --file='frame-#.raw'

V4L2 sample application — libcamera

libcamera is an open-source software framework. It handles control of the V4L2 camera interface and exposes a native C++ API to upper layers. The applications and upper-level frameworks run based on the libcamera framework.See libcamera architecture for more detail about the libcamera architecture.

libcamera is validated using the cam utility.

Capture raw frame data

The following steps describe how to capture raw frame data with the camera utility app using the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM3 slot of the RB3 device.

libcamera is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify that the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod command:

Verify Modules

# lsmod | grep qcom_camss
# lsmod | grep imx412

Delete uncalibrated.yaml

Run mount -o remount rw /usr first, otherwise this fails with a Read-only file system error.

Delete YAML

# rm -rf /usr/share/libcamera/ipa/simple/uncalibrated.yaml

Run the cam utility

Run cam Utility

# cam -c 1 --capture=10 --file='frame-#.raw'

This runs the utility and captures 10 raw frames in the root directory and saves them into files.Check the console log messages for information about the resolution and format of the dumped images.

Log Output

Using camera /base/soc@0/cci@ac4b000/i2c-bus@1/camera@1a as cam0 [0:15:01.067615799] [2155] INFO Camera camera.cpp:945 configuring streams:
(0) 4056x3040-SRGGB10_CSI2P
cam0: Capture 10 frames

The V4L2 framework within the Linux kernel supports video devices. It provides an API that allows user space applications to interact with devices such as cameras and video capture cards.More information on V4L2 is available from kernel.org.Qualcomm supports the V4L2 interface camera ISP driver for raw frame dump functionality in the upstream kernel.

CAMSS driver

CSIPHY module – Handles the physical layer of the CSI2 receivers. A separate camera sensor can be connected to each CSIPHY module.
CSI Decoder (CSID) module – Handles the protocol and application layers of the CSI2 receivers. A CSID can decode a data stream from any CSIPHY.
Video Front End (VFE) module – Represents the Image Front End (IFE) that contains Raw Dump Interface (RDI) input interfaces that bypass the image processing pipeline. The VFE also contains the AXI bus interface which writes output data to memory.

CAMSS V4L2 drivers are in <kernel_root>/drivers/media/platform/qcom/camss. <kernel_root> is the directory of the Linux kernel.

V4L2 sample application — Yavta

This section describes how to capture raw frame data using an application that supports the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 slot of the IQ-9075-EVK device.

Yavta is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

root@iq-9075-evk:/# lsmod |grep -iE "qcom_camss|imx412"
qcom_camss            569344  20
imx412                 16384  0

The expected result is that the IMX412 sensor driver and qcom_camss camera subsystem modules are loaded successfully, confirming the upstream camera stack is active.

Check the media node number

Run the following command to print the media device node number for the CAMSS driver.If /dev/media0 does not list the qcom-camss driver, try it with /dev/media1.

Check Media Node

# media-ctl -p -d /dev/media1 | grep camss
driver       qcom-camss
bus info     platform:acaf000.camss

Check the media device graph

Run the following command to check the media device graph:

Media Device Graph

media-ctl -p -d /dev/media'x'

Find the sensor name

Run the following command to print the sensor name to the terminal:

Find Sensor

# cat /sys/dev/char/81\:*/name | grep imx
imx577 21-001a

Configure the media controller

The media controller utility (media-ctrl) is a V4L2 utility used to configure camera subsystem subdevices. Use media-ctl --help to print usage information.

Replace [x] with the number found via Check the media node number. For example, # media-ctl -d /dev/media1 --reset.

Reset all links to inactive:
Reset Links
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] --reset

Configure the camera sensor format and resolution on pipeline nodes:

Configure Sensor

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"imx577 21-001a":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040 field:none]'

Configure CSIPHY with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSIPHY

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure CSID with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSID

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/4056x3040] '
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":1[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure ISP with 3840x2160 resolution:

Configure ISP

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Link the pipeline:

Link Pipeline

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csiphy1":1->"msm_csid0":0[1]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csid0":1->"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[1]'

Capture images

The Yavta test application validates the camera using the V4L2 interface. Run Yavta to capture images:

Yavta Capture

# yavta -B capture-mplane -c -I -n 5 -f SRGGB10P -s 4056x3040 -F /dev/video0 --capture=5 --file='frame-#.raw'

V4L2 sample application — libcamera

libcamera is validated using the cam utility.

Capture raw frame data

The following steps describe how to capture raw frame data with the camera utility app using the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 slot of the IQ-9075-EVK device.

libcamera is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

# lsmod | grep qcom_camss
# lsmod | grep imx412

Delete uncalibrated.yaml

Run mount -o remount rw /usr first, otherwise this fails with a Read-only file system error.

Delete YAML

# rm -rf /usr/share/libcamera/ipa/simple/uncalibrated.yaml

Run the cam utility

Run cam Utility

# cam -c 1 --capture=10 --file='frame-#.raw'

This runs the utility and captures 10 raw frames in the root directory and saves them into files.Check the console log messages for information about the resolution and format of the dumped images.

Log Output

Using camera /base/soc@0/cci@ac4b000/i2c-bus@1/camera@1a as cam0 [0:15:01.067615799] [2155] INFO Camera camera.cpp:945 configuring streams:
(0) 4056x3040-SRGGB10_CSI2P
cam0: Capture 10 frames

CAMSS driver

CSIPHY module – Handles the physical layer of the CSI2 receivers. A separate camera sensor can be connected to each CSIPHY module.
CSI Decoder (CSID) module – Handles the protocol and application layers of the CSI2 receivers. A CSID can decode a data stream from any CSIPHY.
Video Front End (VFE) module – Represents the Image Front End (IFE) that contains Raw Dump Interface (RDI) input interfaces that bypass the image processing pipeline. The VFE also contains the AXI bus interface which writes output data to memory.

CAMSS V4L2 drivers are in <kernel_root>/drivers/media/platform/qcom/camss. <kernel_root> is the directory of the Linux kernel.

V4L2 sample application — Yavta

This section describes how to capture raw frame data using an application that supports the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 slot of the IQ-8275-EVK device.

Yavta is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

root@iq-8275-evk:/# lsmod |grep -iE "qcom_camss|imx412"
qcom_camss            569344  20
imx412                 16384  0

The expected result is that the IMX412 sensor driver and qcom_camss camera subsystem modules are loaded successfully, confirming the upstream camera stack is active.

Check the media node number

Run the following command to print the media device node number for the CAMSS driver.If /dev/media0 does not list the qcom-camss driver, try it with /dev/media1.

Check Media Node

# media-ctl -p -d /dev/media1 | grep camss
driver       qcom-camss
bus info     platform:acaf000.camss

Check the media device graph

Run the following command to check the media device graph:

Media Device Graph

media-ctl -p -d /dev/media'x'

Find the sensor name

Run the following command to print the sensor name to the terminal:

Find Sensor

# cat /sys/dev/char/81\:*/name | grep imx
imx577 21-001a

Configure the media controller

The media controller utility (media-ctrl) is a V4L2 utility used to configure camera subsystem subdevices. Use media-ctl --help to print usage information.

Replace [x] with the number found via Check the media node number. For example, # media-ctl -d /dev/media1 --reset.

Reset all links to inactive:
Reset Links
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] --reset

Configure the camera sensor format and resolution on pipeline nodes:

Configure Sensor

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"imx577 21-001a":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040 field:none]'

Configure CSIPHY with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSIPHY

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure CSID with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSID

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/4056x3040] '
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":1[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure ISP with 3840x2160 resolution:

Configure ISP

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Link the pipeline:

Link Pipeline

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csiphy1":1->"msm_csid0":0[1]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csid0":1->"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[1]'

Capture images

The Yavta test application validates the camera using the V4L2 interface. Run Yavta to capture images:

Yavta Capture

# yavta -B capture-mplane -c -I -n 5 -f SRGGB10P -s 4056x3040 -F /dev/video0 --capture=5 --file='frame-#.raw'

V4L2 sample application — libcamera

libcamera is validated using the cam utility.

Capture raw frame data

The following steps describe how to capture raw frame data with the camera utility app using the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 slot of the IQ-8275-EVK device.

libcamera is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

# lsmod | grep qcom_camss
# lsmod | grep imx412

Delete uncalibrated.yaml

Run mount -o remount rw /usr first, otherwise this fails with a Read-only file system error.

Delete YAML

# rm -rf /usr/share/libcamera/ipa/simple/uncalibrated.yaml

Run the cam utility

Run cam Utility

# cam -c 1 --capture=10 --file='frame-#.raw'

This runs the utility and captures 10 raw frames in the root directory and saves them into files.Check the console log messages for information about the resolution and format of the dumped images.

Log Output

Using camera /base/soc@0/cci@ac4b000/i2c-bus@1/camera@1a as cam0 [0:15:01.067615799] [2155] INFO Camera camera.cpp:945 configuring streams:
(0) 4056x3040-SRGGB10_CSI2P
cam0: Capture 10 frames

CAMSS driver

CSIPHY module – Handles the physical layer of the CSI2 receivers. A separate camera sensor can be connected to each CSIPHY module.
CSI Decoder (CSID) module – Handles the protocol and application layers of the CSI2 receivers. A CSID can decode a data stream from any CSIPHY.
Video Front End (VFE) module – Represents the Image Front End (IFE) that contains Raw Dump Interface (RDI) input interfaces that bypass the image processing pipeline. The VFE also contains the AXI bus interface which writes output data to memory.

CAMSS V4L2 drivers are in <kernel_root>/drivers/media/platform/qcom/camss. <kernel_root> is the directory of the Linux kernel.

V4L2 sample application — Yavta

This section describes how to capture raw frame data using an application that supports the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 slot of the IQ615 device.

Yavta is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

root@iq-615-evk:/# lsmod |grep -iE "qcom_camss|imx412"
qcom_camss            569344  20
imx412                 16384  0

The expected result is that the IMX412 sensor driver and qcom_camss camera subsystem modules are loaded successfully, confirming the upstream camera stack is active.

Check the media node number

Run the following command to print the media device node number for the CAMSS driver.If /dev/media0 does not list the qcom-camss driver, try it with /dev/media1.

Check Media Node

# media-ctl -p -d /dev/media1 | grep camss
driver       qcom-camss
bus info     platform:acaf000.camss

Check the media device graph

Run the following command to check the media device graph:

Media Device Graph

media-ctl -p -d /dev/media'x'

Find the sensor name

Run the following command to print the sensor name to the terminal:

Find Sensor

# cat /sys/dev/char/81\:*/name | grep imx
imx577 21-001a

Configure the media controller

The media controller utility (media-ctrl) is a V4L2 utility used to configure camera subsystem subdevices. Use media-ctl --help to print usage information.

Replace [x] with the number found via Check the media node number. For example, # media-ctl -d /dev/media1 --reset.

Reset all links to inactive:
Reset Links
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] --reset

Configure the camera sensor format and resolution on pipeline nodes:

Configure Sensor

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"imx577 21-001a":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040 field:none]'

Configure CSIPHY with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSIPHY

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure CSID with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSID

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/4056x3040] '
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":1[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure ISP with 3840x2160 resolution:

Configure ISP

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Link the pipeline:

Link Pipeline

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csiphy1":1->"msm_csid0":0[1]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csid0":1->"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[1]'

Capture images

The Yavta test application validates the camera using the V4L2 interface. Run Yavta to capture images:

Yavta Capture

# yavta -B capture-mplane -c -I -n 5 -f SRGGB10P -s 4056x3040 -F /dev/video0 --capture=5 --file='frame-#.raw'

V4L2 sample application — libcamera

libcamera is validated using the cam utility.

Capture raw frame data

The following steps describe how to capture raw frame data with the camera utility app using the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 slot of the IQ615 device.

libcamera is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

# lsmod | grep qcom_camss
# lsmod | grep imx412

Delete uncalibrated.yaml

Run mount -o remount rw /usr first, otherwise this fails with a Read-only file system error.

Delete YAML

# rm -rf /usr/share/libcamera/ipa/simple/uncalibrated.yaml

Run the cam utility

Run cam Utility

# cam -c 1 --capture=10 --file='frame-#.raw'

This runs the utility and captures 10 raw frames in the root directory and saves them into files.Check the console log messages for information about the resolution and format of the dumped images.

Log Output

Using camera /base/soc@0/cci@ac4b000/i2c-bus@1/camera@1a as cam0 [0:15:01.067615799] [2155] INFO Camera camera.cpp:945 configuring streams:
(0) 4056x3040-SRGGB10_CSI2P
cam0: Capture 10 frames

CAMSS driver

CSIPHY module – Handles the physical layer of the CSI2 receivers. A separate camera sensor can be connected to each CSIPHY module.
CSI Decoder (CSID) module – Handles the protocol and application layers of the CSI2 receivers. A CSID can decode a data stream from any CSIPHY.
Video Front End (VFE) module – Represents the Image Front End (IFE) that contains Raw Dump Interface (RDI) input interfaces that bypass the image processing pipeline. The VFE also contains the AXI bus interface which writes output data to memory.

CAMSS V4L2 drivers are in <kernel_root>/drivers/media/platform/qcom/camss. <kernel_root> is the directory of the Linux kernel.

V4L2 sample application — Yavta

This section describes how to capture raw frame data using an application that supports the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 (CSI1 22-pin) slot of the IQx7181 device.

Yavta is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

   lsmod | grep qcom_camss 
   lsmod | grep imx412

Check the media node number

Run the following command to print the media device node number for the CAMSS driver.If /dev/media0 does not list the qcom-camss driver, try it with /dev/media1.

Check Media Node

# media-ctl -p -d /dev/media1 | grep camss
driver       qcom-camss
bus info     platform:acaf000.camss

Check the media device graph

Run the following command to check the media device graph:

Media Device Graph

media-ctl -p -d /dev/media'x'

Find the sensor name

Run the following command to print the sensor name to the terminal:

Find Sensor

# cat /sys/dev/char/81\:*/name | grep imx
imx577 21-001a

Configure the media controller

The media controller utility (media-ctrl) is a V4L2 utility used to configure camera subsystem subdevices. Use media-ctl --help to print usage information.

Replace [x] with the number found via Check the media node number. For example, # media-ctl -d /dev/media1 --reset.

Reset all links to inactive:
Reset Links
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] --reset

Configure the camera sensor format and resolution on pipeline nodes:

Configure Sensor

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"imx577 21-001a":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040 field:none]'

Configure CSIPHY with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSIPHY

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csiphy1":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure CSID with 4056x3040 resolution:

Configure CSID

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/4056x3040] '
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_csid0":1[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Configure ISP with 3840x2160 resolution:

Configure ISP

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[fmt:SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -V '"msm_vfe0_rdi0":1[fmt: SRGGB10/ 4056x3040]'

Link the pipeline:

Link Pipeline

# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csiphy1":1->"msm_csid0":0[1]'
# media-ctl -d /dev/media[x] -l '"msm_csid0":1->"msm_vfe0_rdi0":0[1]'

Capture images

The Yavta test application validates the camera using the V4L2 interface. Run Yavta to capture images:

Yavta Capture

# yavta -B capture-mplane -c -I -n 5 -f SRGGB10P -s 4056x3040 -F /dev/video0 --capture=5 --file='frame-#.raw'

V4L2 sample application — libcamera

libcamera is validated using the cam utility.

Capture raw frame data

The following steps describe how to capture raw frame data with the camera utility app using the V4L2 interface.

Connect the IMX577 MIPI camera sensor to the CAM1 slot of the IQx7181 device.

libcamera is available by default as part of the image; no explicit installation is required.

Verify the CAMSS module

The IMX412 and CAMSS modules are loaded by default. Verify the qcom_camss and IMX412 modules are loaded by running the following lsmod commands:

Verify Modules

# lsmod | grep qcom_camss
# lsmod | grep imx412

Delete uncalibrated.yaml

Run mount -o remount rw /usr first, otherwise this fails with a Read-only file system error.

Delete YAML

# rm -rf /usr/share/libcamera/ipa/simple/uncalibrated.yaml

Run the cam utility

Run cam Utility

# cam -c 1 --capture=10 --file='frame-#.raw'

This runs the utility and captures 10 raw frames in the root directory and saves them into files.Check the console log messages for information about the resolution and format of the dumped images.

Log Output

Using camera /base/soc@0/cci@ac4b000/i2c-bus@1/camera@1a as cam0 [0:15:01.067615799] [2155] INFO Camera camera.cpp:945 configuring streams:
(0) 4056x3040-SRGGB10_CSI2P
cam0: Capture 10 frames

USB camera

Qualcomm Linux devices provide driver support for USB web cameras that adhere to the USB video class (UVC) standard. The UVC video driver exposes these cameras as V4L2 video devices, which can be accessed through the character device nodes such as /dev/videoX. See USB camera configuration for an USB camera usage. The sample application gst-usb-single-camera-app can be used for USB camera validation.

Network camera

A network camera can be supported with the open source GStreamer plugin. Getting a camera stream from the network depends on the network protocols supported by the GStreamer plugin. Developers can use an open source GStreamer plugin (for example, rtspsrc) to handle camera streams from the network and create a pipeline as needed. See rtspsrc for plugin details. The sample application gst-ai-multistream-inference can also be used for network camera validation. See Bring up Ethernet for instructions on setting up an Ethernet network connection. For developing a GStreamer application on the Qualcomm platform, see Qualcomm Intelligent Multimedia SDK.

Introduction

Architecture

Key Documents

Technologies

System

Release Notes

MIPI CSI

GMSL

GStreamer

V4L2

01 · Set up the camera

QCS6490 Camera Topology

RB3G2 Vision Mezzanine: MIPI CSI

Camera Connections

SW2300 DIP Switch on Interposer Board

RB3G2 Vision Mezzanine: GMSL

RB3G2 Interposer Board: MIPI CSI

Camera Connections

DIP Switch Settings

Supported Features

IQ-9075-EVK Camera Topology

GMSL Port Map

Port Capacity

Sensor Support by Port

DIP Switch Setup

Concurrent Camera Support

MIPI Support

GMSL Support

GMSL + MIPI Concurrency

IQ-8275-EVK Camera Topology

GMSL Port Map

Port Capacity

DIP Switch Setup

Concurrent Camera Support

MIPI Support

GMSL Support

GMSL Port-0 + Port-2 Concurrency

GMSL + MIPI Concurrency

IQ615 EVK Camera Topology

Board Overview

CSI1 Path Selection

GMSL Interface

Switch Configuration

Summary

Interface summary

Supported CSI interfaces

CSI interface details

CSI0 interface

CSI4 interface

CSI1 and CSI2 interfaces

Configure CSI1 connector (30-pin and 22-pin)

Use IMX577 sensor with CSI1

02 · Choose the stream API

GStreamer API

V4L2 API

03 · Stream camera with the GStreamer API

Prerequisites

Run camera use cases

Single camera stream start

Video encoding

Video encoding and snapshot

MIPI multi-camera streaming

Single camera stream start

Video encoding

Video encoding and snapshot

MIPI multi-camera streaming

GMSL multi-camera streaming

Single camera stream start

Video encoding

Video encoding and snapshot

MIPI multi-camera streaming

GMSL multi-camera streaming

Single camera stream start

Video encoding

Video encoding and snapshot

Other GStreamer Samples

04 · Stream camera with the V4L2 API

CAMSS driver

V4L2 sample application — Yavta

V4L2 sample application — libcamera