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EDM-IMX95 TEVS Camera Usage Guide

🚀 Introduction​

This article guides you how to get started using TechNexion camera modules on EDM-IMX95 EVM board.

Background knowledge needed

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

e.g. IMX95-EVM Baseboard

This article uses the IMX95-EVM baseboard as an example, based on the 🔗 Yocto 5.2 (Walnascar) 2026Q1 Release. The corresponding Linux kernel version is 6.6.49_2.2.0.

📸 Supported Camera Modules​

Camera SeriesProducts
TEVS
TEVS-AR0144
TEVS-AR0145
TEVS-AR0234
TEVS-AR0521
TEVS-AR0522
TEVS-AR0821
TEVS-AR0822
TEVS-AR1335

🧩 Supported Boards​

SoMBoard
EDM-IMX95IMX95-EVM

🔧 Hardware Setup Instructions​

1. Power Supply Preparation​

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

2. Debug Console Connection​

  • Prepare a USB-to-UART cable if you're connecting to a PC.
  • Connect it to the UART_A_A55 connector.

3. Display Output Connection​

  • Prepare a 10.1 inch LVDS panel for output display.
  • Connect the display to the LVDS connector on the board.

4. Camera Interface (CSI) Overview​

  • The board features two MIPI-CSI-2 interfaces, referred to as CSI1 and CSI2.
  • These use 70-pin board-to-board connectors manufactured by Hirose.
  • The image below shows a TEVS camera connected to the CSI2 interface.
Figure 1. TEVS camera module plugged into the CSI2 connector using a ribbon cable.

CSI2 Switch

If you are using the CSI2 connector, please remember to set the SW2 switch to the ON position to enable it.

Figure 2. TEVS camera module plugged into the CSI1 connector using a ribbon cable.

💻 Prepare Yocto demo image for testing TechNexion camera​

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

🔽 Downloading the Demo Image​

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

🔗 Supported Release List

💾 Flashing the Image​

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

1. Using uuu Tool (Universal Update Utility)​

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

Boot Mode

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

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

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

U-Boot Requirement

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

🛠️ Build Yocto​

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

📦 Supported Linux Kernel​

Linux Kernel VersionYocto Branch
6.12.49tn-imx_6.12.49_2.2.0-stable

📁 Source and Build Instructions​

🔗 Fetch Yocto Source
📖 Build Yocto (Instructions for EDM-IMX95)

📸 Camera Testing Instructions​

Specify Camera DTBO in U-Boot​

  1. Connect the debug console cable to carrier board.

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

  3. Specify the appropriate device tree for cameras using the dtoverlay environment variable in U-Boot:

u-boot=> setenv dtoverlay lvds-vl10112880 tevs-csi0 tevs-csi1
About device tree Blob

The command above is an example for connecting two cameras simultaneously. If only one camera is connected, simply select the corresponding DTBO for the CSI port.

  1. Continue boot process.
u-boot=> saveenv
u-boot=> boot

🎥 Start Camera Video Stream via GStreamer​

Launch GStreamer Pipeline​

  1. List supported cameras:

    $ cam -l
    ...
    Available cameras:
    1: 'tevs' (/base/soc/bus@44000000/i2c@44350000/tevs@48)
    2: 'tevs' (/base/soc/bus@42000000/i2c@42540000/tevs@48)

    This command will display available cameras and their names.

  2. Check supported resolutions:

    $ cam -c 1 --info
    ...
    Using camera /base/soc/bus@44000000/i2c@44350000/tevs@48 as cam0
    0: 1280x800-YUYV/Rec709/sRGB/Rec601/Limited
     * Pixelformat: NV12 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: ABGR8888 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: BGR888 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: RGB888 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: XRGB8888 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: YUV444 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: RGB565 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: NV16 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: YUYV (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800
     * Pixelformat: AVUY8888 (640x480)-(1280x800)/(+0,+0)
      - 640x480
      - 1280x720
      - 1280x800

    Replace 1 with the camera number from the previous step. This shows all supported pixel formats and resolutions.

  3. Launch GStreamer pipeline with libcamerasrc:

    $ gst-launch-1.0 libcamerasrc camera-name=$CAMERA_NAME ! \
      video/x-raw,format=YUY2,width=<res_w>,height=<res_h> ! \
      waylandsink sync=false

    Replace $CAMERA_NAME with the actual camera name from step 1, and <res_w> and <res_h> with your desired resolution (e.g., 1280x720).

    Recommended Format

    YUY2 (YUYV) format is recommended for optimal performance and compatibility with most display sinks.

Check Media Controller​

We can get media controller as below :

$ media-ctl -p
Media controller API version 6.12.49

Media device information
------------------------
driver          mxc-isi
model           FSL Capture Media Device
serial
bus info        platform:4ad50000.isi
hw revision     0x0
driver version  6.12.49

Device topology
- entity 1: crossbar (13 pads, 11 links, 2 routes)
            type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
            device node name /dev/v4l-subdev0
        routes:
                2/0 -> 5/0 [ACTIVE]
                3/0 -> 6/0 [ACTIVE]
        pad0: SINK,MUST_CONNECT
        pad1: SINK,MUST_CONNECT
        pad2: SINK,MUST_CONNECT
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:srgb xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:lim-range]
                <- "4ac10000.syscon:formatter@20":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad3: SINK,MUST_CONNECT
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg]
                <- "4ac10000.syscon:formatter@120":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad4: SINK,MUST_CONNECT
                <- "mxc_isi.output":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad5: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:srgb xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:lim-range]
                -> "mxc_isi.0":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad6: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg]
                -> "mxc_isi.1":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad7: SOURCE
                -> "mxc_isi.2":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad8: SOURCE
                -> "mxc_isi.3":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad9: SOURCE
                -> "mxc_isi.4":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad10: SOURCE
                -> "mxc_isi.5":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad11: SOURCE
                -> "mxc_isi.6":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad12: SOURCE
                -> "mxc_isi.7":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 15: mxc_isi.0 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev1
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1280x720
                 compose:(0,0)/1280x720]
                <- "crossbar":5 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1280x720
                 crop:(0,0)/1280x720]
                -> "mxc_isi.0.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 18: mxc_isi.0.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video0
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.0":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 26: mxc_isi.1 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev2
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1280x720
                 compose:(0,0)/1280x720]
                <- "crossbar":6 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1280x720
                 crop:(0,0)/1280x720]
                -> "mxc_isi.1.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 29: mxc_isi.1.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video1
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.1":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 37: mxc_isi.2 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev3
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 compose:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                <- "crossbar":7 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 crop:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                -> "mxc_isi.2.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 40: mxc_isi.2.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video2
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.2":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 48: mxc_isi.3 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev4
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 compose:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                <- "crossbar":8 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 crop:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                -> "mxc_isi.3.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 51: mxc_isi.3.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video3
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.3":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 59: mxc_isi.4 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev5
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 compose:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                <- "crossbar":9 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 crop:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                -> "mxc_isi.4.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 62: mxc_isi.4.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video4
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.4":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 70: mxc_isi.5 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev6
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 compose:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                <- "crossbar":10 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 crop:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                -> "mxc_isi.5.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 73: mxc_isi.5.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video5
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.5":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 81: mxc_isi.6 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev7
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 compose:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                <- "crossbar":11 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 crop:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                -> "mxc_isi.6.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 84: mxc_isi.6.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video6
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.6":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 92: mxc_isi.7 (2 pads, 2 links, 0 routes)
             type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
             device node name /dev/v4l-subdev8
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 compose.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 compose:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                <- "crossbar":12 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:YUV8_1X24/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:jpeg xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1920x1080
                 crop:(0,0)/1920x1080]
                -> "mxc_isi.7.capture":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 95: mxc_isi.7.capture (1 pad, 1 link)
             type Node subtype V4L flags 0
             device node name /dev/video7
        pad0: SINK
                <- "mxc_isi.7":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 103: mxc_isi.output (1 pad, 1 link)
              type Node subtype V4L flags 0
        pad0: SOURCE
                -> "crossbar":4 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 110: 4ac10000.syscon:formatter@20 (2 pads, 2 links, 1 route)
              type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
              device node name /dev/v4l-subdev9
        routes:
                0/0 -> 1/0 [ACTIVE]
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:smpte170m xfer:709 ycbcr:601 quantization:lim-range]
                <- "csidev-4ad30000.csi":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:smpte170m xfer:709 ycbcr:601 quantization:lim-range]
                -> "crossbar":2 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 115: csidev-4ad30000.csi (2 pads, 2 links, 1 route)
              type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
              device node name /dev/v4l-subdev10
        routes:
                0/0 -> 1/0 [ACTIVE]
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:smpte170m xfer:709 ycbcr:601 quantization:lim-range]
                <- "tevs 1-0048":0 [ENABLED]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1920x1080 field:none colorspace:smpte170m xfer:709 ycbcr:601 quantization:lim-range]
                -> "4ac10000.syscon:formatter@20":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 120: tevs 1-0048 (1 pad, 1 link, 0 routes)
              type V4L2 subdev subtype Sensor flags 0
              device node name /dev/v4l-subdev11
        pad0: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720@1/60 field:none colorspace:srgb xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1280x720
                 crop:(0,0)/1280x720]
                -> "csidev-4ad30000.csi":0 [ENABLED]

- entity 124: 4ac10000.syscon:formatter@120 (2 pads, 2 links, 1 route)
              type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
              device node name /dev/v4l-subdev12
        routes:
                0/0 -> 1/0 [ACTIVE]
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg]
                <- "csidev-4ad40000.csi":1 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg]
                -> "crossbar":3 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 129: csidev-4ad40000.csi (2 pads, 2 links, 1 route)
              type V4L2 subdev subtype Unknown flags 0
              device node name /dev/v4l-subdev13
        routes:
                0/0 -> 1/0 [ACTIVE]
        pad0: SINK
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg]
                <- "tevs 3-0048":0 [ENABLED]
        pad1: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720 field:none colorspace:jpeg]
                -> "4ac10000.syscon:formatter@120":0 [ENABLED,IMMUTABLE]

- entity 134: tevs 3-0048 (1 pad, 1 link, 0 routes)
              type V4L2 subdev subtype Sensor flags 0
              device node name /dev/v4l-subdev14
        pad0: SOURCE
                [stream:0 fmt:UYVY8_1X16/1280x720@1/60 field:none colorspace:srgb xfer:srgb ycbcr:601 quantization:full-range
                 crop.bounds:(0,0)/1280x720
                 crop:(0,0)/1280x720]
                -> "csidev-4ad40000.csi":0 [ENABLED]

🚨 Troubleshooting​

Verify Camera Initialization​

Use dmesg to check if the TEVS camera module was initialized correctly.

$ dmesg| grep tevs
[    4.212446] tevs 1-0048: tevs_probe() device node: tevs@48
[    4.738444] tevs 1-0048: Version:25.8.0.1
[    4.746502] tevs 1-0048: Product:TEVS-AR0144, HeaderVer:3, MIPI_Rate:800
[    4.753743] tevs 1-0048: Chip ID: 0x0000
[    4.779782] tevs 1-0048: probe success
[    4.935348] tevs 3-0048: tevs_probe() device node: tevs@48
[    5.474683] tevs 3-0048: Version:25.3.0.2
[    5.482921] tevs 3-0048: Product:TEVS-AR0144, HeaderVer:3, MIPI_Rate:800
[    5.489869] tevs 3-0048: Chip ID: 0x0000
[    5.528728] tevs 3-0048: probe success

Check Available Devices​

Verify that the video devices are available.

  $ v4l2-ctl --list-device

Example output:

mxc-isi-cap (platform:4ad50000.isi):
        /dev/video0
        /dev/video1
        /dev/video2
        /dev/video3
        /dev/video4
        /dev/video5
        /dev/video6
        /dev/video7
        /dev/video8
        /dev/media0

mxc-jpeg codec (platform:4c500000.jpegdec):
        /dev/video11

mxc-jpeg codec (platform:4c550000.jpegenc):
        /dev/video12

wave6-dec (platform:wave6-dec):
        /dev/video9

wave6-enc (platform:wave6-enc):
        /dev/video10
Important

Ensure that /dev/media0 is present in the device list. This media controller device is essential for configuring the camera pipeline and managing the video capture interfaces.