Changing 4-lane camera connector to 2-lane for 3-camera design on Jetson Nano custom carrier board

Robotics & Edge Computing Jetson Systems Jetson Orin Nano
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1

Hello Team,

I am developing a custom carrier board based on the Jetson Nano reference design. My requirements:

  • I need to connect 3 cameras.

  • The Jetson Nano SoM supports multiple CSI interfaces, but the reference carrier board only provides two camera connectors (2-lane each).

Questions:

  1. Can I modify the design to use 4-lane connectors and configure them as 2-lane for compatibility?

  2. Is it possible to mix configurations (e.g., one 4-lane connector and two 2-lane connectors) for supporting 3 cameras?

  3. If simultaneous streaming is required, should I expose additional CSI ports from the SoM or use virtual channels?

  4. Are there any reference schematics available for 4-camera support on Jetson Nano?

Thank you!

3

hello rohith8,

let me double check the Jetson module you’re working with.
is it Jetson Nano (t210 series), or Jetson Orin Nano (t234 series)?

4

Hello,
I’m using the Jetson Orin Nano (T234 series) module for my custom board design.

5

let me moving this topic to Jetson Orin Nano category.

6

hello rohith8,

you should see-also Jetson Orin NX Series and Orin Nano Series Design Guide for [Chapter 10. MIPI CSI Video Input].
there’re eight MIPI CSI lanes on Orin Nano, it support up-to two quad-lane camera streams or up-to four dual-lane camera streams.

so.. let me reply your questions,

>>Q1) Can I modify the design to use 4-lane connectors and configure them as 2-lane for compatibility?

yes, per design guide, it support up-to four dual-lane camera streams.

>>Q2) Is it possible to mix configurations (e.g., one 4-lane connector and two 2-lane connectors) for supporting 3 cameras?

yes, there’re two CSI bricks, (CSI-A/B and CSI-C/D). each CSI brick support one 4-lane or two 2-lane camera configuration.
for instance, you may have 4-lane camera connect to 1st CSI brick, and then rest 2-lane cameras to 2nd CSI brick for your use-case.

>>Q3) If simultaneous streaming is required, should I expose additional CSI ports from the SoM or use virtual channels?

may I also know how many camera streams per your use-case?
please refer to Jetson Virtual Channel with GMSL Camera Framework to enable VC (virtual channel) supports.
please see-also reference camera driver, it has enable 12 camera streams with VC supports.
$public_sources/kernel_src/hardware/nvidia/t23x/nv-public/overlay/tegra234-camera-p3762-a00.dtsi

>>Q4) Are there any reference schematics available for 4-camera support on Jetson Nano?

unfortunately not,
as you can see of Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit Carrier Board Specification for [3.2 Camera Connector].
Jetson Orin Nano developer kit support two cameras (i.e. IMX219 or IMX477).
please design your own carrier board for adding camera connectors to enable 4-cam support.

7

I am designing a custom carrier board for the Jetson Orin Nano that will use three cameras, all of which will be active simultaneously. In the reference design, I noticed an I²C multiplexer circuit (using TS3USB30E) for camera control lines.

image
image877×564 85.9 KB

My question:

  • If all three cameras will be connected and active at the same time, do I still need this I²C multiplexer circuit?

  • Or can I connect all cameras to the same I²C bus directly, assuming they have unique I²C addresses?

Please advise on the best practice for this scenario.

Thank you!

8

hello rohith8,

please try with i2c bus multiplexer/switch since the GPIO-based i2c bus multiplexer can only support two i2c signals.
you may see-also Topic 192486 for reference.

you may also check the reference driver,
for instance,
$public_sources/kernel_src/hardware/nvidia/t23x/nv-public/overlay/tegra234-p3737-camera-modules.dtsi

9

When using TS3USB30E as shown in the Jetson Orin Nano carrier board schematic, does the multiplexer allow two cameras to be detected and active at the same time, or does it only connect one camera at a time to the Jetson?

I need clarification on the above point. My goal is to have three cameras active simultaneously

10

hello rohith8,

as you can see.. there’s i2c bus multiplexer/switch to support six camera nodes, although it’s for Jetson AGX Orin.

				i2c@3180000 {
					tca9548@77 {
						i2c@0 {
							ov5693_a@36 {
						i2c@1 {
							ov5693_b@36 {
						i2c@2 {
							ov5693_c@36 {
						i2c@3 {
							ov5693_d@36 {
						i2c@4 {
							ov5693_e@36 {
						i2c@5 {
							ov5693_g@36 {
11

site monitoring-Camera connector.pdf (248.1 KB)

Initially, the design used a TS3USB30E high-speed switch for I²C channel selection between two cameras. To support three cameras, I have redesigned the schematic to replace TS3USB30E with a TCA9548APWR I²C multiplexer.

The updated design includes:

  • TCA9548APWR for I²C bus multiplexing.

  • Three camera connectors with dedicated I²C lines routed through the multiplexer.

  • Pull-up resistors and decoupling capacitors as per datasheet recommendations.

  • Reset and address pins configured for Jetson Nano compatibility.

I have attached the schematic for your review:
File: Onesense_Jetsonnanositemonitoring-Camera connector.pdf

Could you please confirm:

  1. Will this circuit work correctly with Jetson Nano for a three-camera setup?

  2. Are there any additional considerations for driver support or device tree configuration?

  3. Any best practices for handling I²C bus speed and latency when using TCA9548APWR?

Your feedback will help ensure robust integration and performance.

Thank you for your support.

12

hello rohith8,

it looks okay, you’re using CSI-A, CSI-B, and CSI-C for your 3-cam use-case.
please also note that, per your camera connections, it supports 1-lane or 2-lane camera configuration only.
besides.. there’s no CAM2_PWDN by default, you may route the signaling to Orin SOM for controlling.