Driver Installation

Downloading the Driver Package

The most recent driver packages are available from The Imaging Source’s web site:

https://www.theimagingsource.com/support/downloads-for-linux/.

Because the driver is deeply integrated into the Linux system, the driver package has to be selected to match the installed NVIDIA® JetPack™ version.

The following table shows which package has to be installed depending on

JetPack Version

L4T (Linux for Tegra) Version

Driver Package

4.4

r32.4.3

theimagingsource-drivers_r32.4.3

4.4.1

r32.4.4

theimagingsource-drivers_r32.4.4

4.5

r32.5

theimagingsource-drivers_r32.5

If the package is not compatible with the kernel package installed in the system, it will refuse to install.

Selecting the Device Tree File

During the driver installation process, the installer asks for the indended system configuration to install the matching device tree (.DTB) file

The device tree describes the hardware configuration and instructs the Linux kernel to try to load drivers for the attached devices, including The Imaging Source MIPI cameras.

The names of the device tree files follow a specified structure to allow them to be understood by humans. The following table contains a selection of example file names along with their respective system configurations:

Device Tree File

SOM

Board

Camera Interface

Image Sensor(s)

nano-devkit-2mipi-imx290

Jetson Nano™

Jetson Nano™ Developer Kit

MIPI Adapter

2x IMX290

nano-devkit-1fpdlink-imx297

FPD-Link

1x IMX297

nano-legacy-1mipi-imx335

Old Jetson Nano™ Developer Kit (one camera connector)

MIPI Adapter

1x IMX335

nx-devkit-1mipi-imx296

Jetson Xavier NX™

Jetson Xavier NX™ Developer Kit

MIPI Adapter

1x IMX296

nx-devkit-2fpdlink-ar0234

FPD-Link

2x AR0234

agx-devkit-6fpdlink-imx335

Jetson AGX Xavier

Jetson AGX Xavier Developer Kit

FPD-Link

6x IMX335

The exact camera model is not relevant for the correct selection, but the device tree has to be designated for the image sensor that is inside the cameras.

Selecting a different Device Tree File after Installation

To change the device tree configuration at a later time, the driver package can be reconfigured using the following commands:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure theimagingsource-drivers
sudo reboot

A reboot is required for the change to be in effect.

Upgrading to a newer version of JetPack

Since the driver package might be incompatible with future releases of the L4T kernel, it prevents upgrading to possibly incompatible kernel versions through apt while it is installed.

To upgrade JetPack™, the driver package first has to be uninstalled:

sudo apt remove theimagingsource-drivers

Then, JetPack™ can be upgraded according to NVIDIA®’s documentation:

https://docs.nvidia.com/jetson/jetpack/install-jetpack/index.html#upgrade-jetpack

Next, the matching new driver can be installed:

sudo apt install ./theimagingsource-drivers_r32.5_1.2.3-2.deb