Introduction
This Arducam quadrascopic camera bundle incorporates four 1MP OV9281 global shutter cameras, and the cutting-edge MIPI stereo camera breakthrough from Arducam – The Arducam Camarray HAT. As the upgraded version of Arducam Synched Stereo Camera HAT, the Camarray further pushes the multi-camera limits and doubles the interfacing capabilities to allow 4 synchronized MIPI camera modules to be interfaced to a single MIPI CSI-2 slot on prevailing single-board computers like Raspberry Pi, Jetson Nano, and Jetson Xavier NX.
Also, as the Camarray HAT releases, Arducam starts to support a variable baseline for stereo camera applications with some modified Arducam camera modules, such as those OV9281 ones included in this bundle. Since no shared camera board or clock-sharing soldering is required for the image sensors, you can kick off your prototyping for stereo camera applications and then decide the optimal baseline. Arducam also accepts subsequent customizations for your stereo camera applications.
What is Camarray
Camarray is a series of embedded stereo cameras and multiple camera solutions from Arducam. Upgraded from Arducam Sync Stereo Camera HAT, the Camarry can disguise up to 4 synched camera modules as a single camera slot connection to embedded systems like the Raspberry Pi, Jetson nano, and Xavier NX. With Arducam camarray, your camera connectivities are no longer limited to the camera connectors on the motherboard or the carrier board. Along with Arducam-provided camera drivers, more flexibility can be added to your multi-camera applications.
NOTE
1.The Camarray HAT does not support digital pan in half resolution combine and programmable pan speed control.
2.The Camarray HAT is not a crop and a half (halving the horizontal resolution of each camera and halving the field of view) but a compressed half (halving the horizontal resolution of each camera but leaving the field of view unchanged), so it does not need to support scan mode.
Common Specs
Image Sensor
| Sensor Model | OV9281 |
| Shutter Type | Global Shutter |
| Active Pixels | 1280*4×800 |
| Resolution | 1MP*4 |
| Image Sensor Format | Type 1/4″ |
| Pixel Size | 3μm×3μm |
| Color Filter Array | None(Monochrome) |
Lens Assembly
| Interchangeability | YES |
| F/NO | 2.8 |
| Focus Type | Manual Focus |
| Focusing Range | 30cm to infinity (when focused to infinity) |
| Effective Focal Length(EFL) | 2.8 mm |
| Field of View(FoV) | 70° Horizontal |
| Lens Mount | M12 Lens |
| IR Sensitivity | No IR filter (sensitive to IR light) |
Board
| HAT Size | 65×56 mm |
| Camera Board Size | 40×40 mm |
OV9281 Camera Board Mechanical Drawing
| Pin No. | Pin Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3V3 | Power | 3.3V power supply |
| 2 | FSIN | Input | Frame Sync Input |
| 3 | STB | Output | LED Strobe Output |
| 4 | GND | Ground | Ground |
| 5 | 3V3 | Power | 3.3V power supply |
| 6 | SDA | I/O | SCCB serial interface data I/O |
| 7 | SCL | Input | SCCB serial interface clock input |
| 8 | GND | Ground | Ground |
Connector & Cable
| Connector Interface | MIPI CSI-2 15-pin 2-lane |
| Ribbon Cable Length | 150mm (22-pin), 300mm(15-22pin), 73mm(15-22pin) |
| Pin # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GND | Ground |
| 2 | CAM_D0_N | MIPI Data Lane 0 Negative |
| 3 | CAM_D0_P | MIPI Data Lane 0 Positive |
| 4 | GND | Ground |
| 5 | CAM_D1_N | MIPI Data Lane 1 Negative |
| 6 | CAM_D1_P | MIPI Data Lane 1 Positive |
| 7 | GND | Ground |
| 8 | CAM_CK_N | MIPI Clock Lane Negative |
| 9 | CAM_CK_P | MIPI Clock Lane Positive |
| 10 | GND | Ground |
| 11 | CAM_IO0 | Power Enable |
| 12 | CAM_IO1 | LED Indicator |
| 13 | CAM_SCL | I2C SCL |
| 14 | CAM_SDA | I2C SDA |
| 15 | CAM_3V3 | 3.3V Power Input |
Driver Performance (With Official V4L2 Driver)
| Video Format | GERY(8-bit)/Y10P(10-bit) |
| Output Interface | 2-lane MIPI serial output |
| Output Formats | 8/10-bit BW RAW |
| Frame Rates | [email protected]*4 × 800(on RPi) [email protected]*4 × 800(on Jetson) |
Quick Start Guide
The driver only supports the following kernel version:
- 4.19.113-v7+
- 4.19.118
- 4.19.118-v7+
- 4.19.118-v7l+
- 5.4.42-v7+
- 5.4.51+
- 5.4.51-v7+
- 5.4.51-v7l+
Hardware Setup
Driver Installation
1. Driver note
There are 3 drivers for Raspberry Pi:
- Official driver
- Arducam MIPI camera driver
- Arducam V4L2 driver
1)Arducam MIPI camera driver is not in conflict with the official driver.
2)Arducam V4L2 driver is in conflict with the official driver. If you want to use the official driver, you need to uninstall the Arducam V4L2 driver first.
3)Arducam V4L2 driver is in conflict with Arducam MIPI camera driver. If you want to use the Arducam MIPI camera driver, you need to uninstall the Arducam V4L2 driver first.
4)Arducam V4L2 driver automatically overwrites the other two drivers. After uninstalling the Arducam V4L2 driver, it automatically reverts to the official driver.
The product is driven by the Arducam V4L2.
2. Check the driver
Determine if the system is installed with the Arducam V4L2 driver.
Enter the config.txt :
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
Press【PageDown】several times or scroll your mouse wheel down to check if there is “dtoverlay=arducam”.
1)If you see “dtoverlay=arducam”, the Arducam V4L2 driver has been previously installed and is in a valid state. Press 【Ctrl+X】, 【Enter】to exit the config.txt.
2)If you see “#dtoverlay=arducam”, it means you have installed Arducam V4L2 driver before, but it is uninstalled now, remove the “#” to restore the V4L2 driver. Then reboot Pi to take effect. Press 【Ctrl+X】, 【Y】,【Enter】to save the change and exit the config.txt..
3)If you don’t see “dtoverlay=arducam” or “#dtoverlay=arducam”, it means that Arducam’s V4L2 driver has never been installed before, so you need to follow the instructions below for a complete installation. Press 【Ctrl+X】, 【Enter】to exit the config.txt.
3. Install the driver
#Download driver package
wget https://github.com/ArduCAM/Arducam_OBISP_MIPI_Camera_Module/releases/download/v1.0/Release.tar.gz
#Extract the archive files
tar zxvf Release.tar.gz
#Enter the extracted folder
cd Release/
#Install the driver
./install_driver.sh
#Reboot the device
Press y, and then hit Enter to reboot.
Get an error?
If your operating system is not released by official Raspberry Pi, the driver installation will report an error and give a version error message.
Check out Raspberry Pi official supported operating system:
4. Uninstall the driver
Note that the driver will occupy CSI hardware resources. After installation, you will not be able to use the raspistill tool. There are two ways to uninstall Arducam V4L2 driver:
Method 1: Execute the uninstall command
cd Release/
./uninstall_driver.sh
NOTE
You have to reboot your Pi to make it effect.
Method 2: Modify configuration files
1)Type the following command:
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
2.Press【PageDown】several times or scroll your mouse wheel down to check if there is “dtoverlay=arducam”.
Modify “dtoverlay=arducam” as “#dtoverlay=arducam” to uninstall the V4L2 driver. Press 【Ctrl+X】, 【Y】,【Enter】to save the change and exit.
NOTE
You have to reboot your Pi to make it effect.
First Use
1.Check whether the camera is detected
ls /dev/video0
2.Check the video format supported
v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext
Run the command without results?
You might have to check the ribbon connection or install the drivers correctly, then reboot the Raspberry Pi.
3.Preview the camera feed in real time
#RAW10
arducamstill -t 0 -pixfmt Y10P -w 5120 -h 800
#RAW8
arducamstill -t 0 -pixfmt GREY -w 5120 -h 800
The last line shows frame in real time.
GREY for RAW8 and Y10P for RAW10.
-w and -h indicate the width and height of the input image.
Press Ctrl+C to exit the preview.
NOTE
The HAT can output 45fps, but the Raspberry Pi performance is limited to displaying 30fps (the 8G version of the Raspberry Pi can output 38fps).
Advanced Commands
#View v4l2 command parameters
v4l2-ctl -l
#Adjust exposure
v4l2-ctl -c exposure=100
#Adjust gain
v4l2-ctl -c gain=14
4.Receive data without displaying the image
Dropped frames may exist due to platform performance. You can test the actual input frames by only receiving data without displaying the image.
#RAW10
v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=5120,height=800,pixelformat='Y10P' --stream-mmap --stream-count=-1 -d /dev/video0
#RAW8
v4l2-ctl --set-fmt-video=width=5120,height=800,pixelformat='GREY' --stream-mmap --stream-count=-1 -d /dev/video0
5.Adjust exposure
Open two terminals, the first one is for executing the displaying images command, the second one is for executing the adjusting exposure command.
#Adjust exposure:
v4l2-ctl -c exposure=1000
#Check exposure parameters (minimum, maximum, default)
v4l2-ctl -l
For example, execute the below command in the second terminal:
v4l2-ctl -c exposure=4000
Turning up the exposure time results in a brighter image and a lower frame rate.
6. Adjust gain
Open two terminals, the first one is for executing the displaying images command, the second one is for executing the adjusting gain command.
#Adjust gain:
v4l2-ctl -c gain=12
#Check exposure parameters (minimum, maximum, default)
v4l2-ctl -l
For example, execute the below command in the second terminal:
v4l2-ctl -c gain=12
Turning up the gain results in a brighter image and no change in frame rate.
7.Change frame rate
Type the following command, change the value of “X” to change frame rate.
v4l2-ctl -c frame_rate=X
For example, you want to change the frame rate to 30. First, open two terminals, type the following command in the first terminal
arducamstill -t 0 -pixfmt GREY -w 5120 -h 800
Type the following command in the second terminal to change frame rate:
v4l2-ctl -c frame_rate=30
Type the following command in the second terminal to view the frame rate range of the current display mode:
v4l2-ctl -l
IMPORTANT NOTE
Dropped frames may exist due to the platform performance.
For example, if the frame rate is set to 46 fps, the display only goes up to 38fps.
But when you use only receiving data without displaying the image, the frame rate goes back to 45fps. (The frame rate values here are not real-time and are calculated iteratively with historical values, changing slowly.)
Display Images via VLC Media Player
The Raspberry Pi system comes with a VLC madia player.
1.Open VLC media plyer
2.Select 【Media】→【Open Capture Device…】
3.【Video device name】→ select “/dev/video0“→ click 【Play】
It may be stuck due to Raspberry Pi performance and VLC media player.
4.Adjust the exposure, gain, and frame rate
【Tool】→【Effects and Filters】
Drag the different slider to adjust the corresponding parameter.
Display Images via Mplayer
1.Install mplayer
sudo apt-get install mplayer
2.Display images
mplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:device=/dev/video0
Do not enter this command remotely, otherwise it will be stuck.
The image screen may be too large for the display to be complete. You need to drag the title bar to move the window to see the full image. (The image is pretty smooth.)
Or enter the following command to zoom the image. The image will appear full, but it will become stuck.
mplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:device=/dev/video0 -zoom -x 1280 -y 200
“-x” “- y” denotes the width and height of the scaled image, and it is recommended to modify them in equal proportion.
What’s Next
Here are the things you can do after this quick start:
- Check the Application Note for applications like using Arducam userland MIPI camera drivers.
- Join the discussion in our forum.
Application Note
Use with Arducam USB3.0 32b Camera Shield
| column | raw | FPS | bandwidths/MB |
| 5120 | 800 | 45.0 | 175.8 |
Please strictly follow the installation and operation order below, otherwise errors will occur!
1.Download File here.
2.Connect the camera module to the HAT then connect HAT to the USB Camera Shield in the case of a total power failure.
3.Power the HAT through micro USB port,then power the USB Camera Shield.
4.Run USBTest
5.Scan and select the camera device number
5.Select CfgFile
6.Click 【load】- Click【open】
7.Power down the HAT then power the HAT.
8.Click【play】
