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OMAP 4 double cam connection

Hi all,

I just started working on a project that need the use of two cameras that acquire in the same time two different images like is usually done in the 3d systems but this is not my case. I would like to have some information about the best way to cononect 2 cameras to omap4 and  the capability of the linux  camera driver to manage to different cameras simultanously.

My project is in an early stage and for now i can imagine two possibility:

1) Use two USB camera connected to the processor. Omap4 is powerful enough to manage two 3.1Mpix camera on linux?

2) I have to create a dedicated board, so i can mount directly two cmos (the right one with linux driver aptina or OV) on the board and connect them to CSIA and CSIC

In the second case linux can recognize the  cameras as two different devices? You know some reference design or existing project that can aid me in this way?

Thanks  in advance,

Giulio

  • For second approach, you will need multi instance OMX camera support. This is under progress. For now you can set OMX camera in stereo mode and get a single buffer which has outputs of 2 sensors in top-bottom or side-by-side format.

  • Thanks for the reply.  So i have to connect the two sensor in a stereoscopic topology like the one showed in the aptina sensor datasheet.

    OMX is an API, but which physical devices have drivers that are compatible with the captured functions of OMX camera you were referring to? can you make an example?

    Thanks,

    Giulio

  • You can connect the sensors to OMAP as 2 independent cameras. OMAP4 OMX component internally uses CSI2 protocol to get data from the sensors. On our reference platform we have used OV5650 sensors, but any CSI2 compliant sensor should work

  • Hello Mayank,

    what are the required steps in order to capture in stereo mode top-bottom

    we have tried that, and the streams became "green coloured"

    Thanks

  • If you are using Android, CameraHAL has parameters to specify TB (top bottom) or SS (side by side) format. You must select a preview resolution from supported resolution table.

    For more details, please start a new thread since this one is already considered closed.

  • Hi Mayank,

    I would have some infos about your reference platform. Is it a commercial device? If this is the case, what's its name?

    We are using the Variscite OM4460 DVK with the CB401 extension board which can to connect two independent cameras on CSI2 ports of the OM4460. Our purpose is to acquire from the two cameras simultaneously. We tried to use the omx_camera_test sample program of the omapdrmtest package in the TI PPA (https://launchpad.net/~tiomap-dev/+archive/release/+packages) running from the command line of a Linux distribution (Ubuntu Precise). The application can invoke the omx_driver in different modes using different command line parameteres (sensor 0 = primary cam, sensor 1 = secondary cam, sensor 2 = stereo mode).

    Unfortunately we couldn't get the stereo stream because the extension board is shipped with compact camera modules with OV5640 sensor. Therefore, here some further questions:

    1) Since you said that the stereo mode should work with any CSI2 compliant devices, do you figure out why it doesn't work with ov5640?

    2) Since the CB401 extension board connects the cameras to the two CSI2 connection of the OMAP4460, can you suppose that it is sufficient to substitute the ov5640 compact camera modules with an ov5650 compact camera module to get the stereo stream?

    3) As before, what's your reference design capable of stereo mode equipped with ov5650 sensors?

    4) Do you have any schematic of this reference design to figure out if the connection to OMAP4460 is correct for stereo mode acquisition?

    5) Do you think we will need to change or upgrade the Ducati firmware to make the stereo acquisition mode working? Where we can find an Ubuntu distro with the proper Ducati firmware compatible with the stereo acq mode?

    Any further comment is appreciated.

    Thanks in advance,

    Gionatan

  • 1) Since you said that the stereo mode should work with any CSI2 compliant devices, do you figure out why it doesn't work with ov5640?

    It may be a software issue. Technically there is no reason why stereo mode does not work for ov5640 

    2) Since the CB401 extension board connects the cameras to the two CSI2 connection of the OMAP4460, can you suppose that it is sufficient to substitute the ov5640 compact camera modules with an ov5650 compact camera module to get the stereo stream?

    Simple HW substitution will not do. You will need to modify Ducati to accommodate OV5640 driver

    3) As before, what's your reference design capable of stereo mode equipped with ov5650 sensors?

    Blaze board. http://www.omapworld.com/blaze.html

    4) Do you have any schematic of this reference design to figure out if the connection to OMAP4460 is correct for stereo mode acquisition?

    I am not sure if schematic can be shared without NDA. Please contact  your TI representative

    5) Do you think we will need to change or upgrade the Ducati firmware to make the stereo acquisition mode working? Where we can find an Ubuntu distro with the proper Ducati firmware compatible with the stereo acq mode?

    Again, contact  your TI representative to get correct Ubuntu and Ducati release.