Technical Background

The ODROID-XU4 is a single-board computer with an ARM-based central processing unit (CPU). It’s an octa-core CPU based on the ARM big.LITTLE technology. It includes four ARM Cortex A15 cores and four ARM Cortex A7 cores. It also integrates a graphics processing unit (GPU) based on the ARM Mali technology. The ODROID-XU4 supports Gigabit Ethernet and USB3.0. For the GigE interface data rates of up to 880 Mbit/s are specified by Hardkernel.


Getting Started

Installing a new OS on ODROID-XU4

Installing a new OS on the ODROID-XU4 requires a host PC (we recommend using Ubuntu 16.04). It is necessary to install the OS version Linux Ubuntu 16.04 (20161125) on the ODROID-XU4.

 

First download the Ubuntu 16.04 Image from the following link:

https://odroid.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=en:xu3_release_linux_ubuntu

 

There is an issue downloading the file with Windows. Therefore we recommend downloading the image file with a Linux PC.

 

To install the OS on the ODROID-XU4 follow the guide on the Hardkernel website:

http://odroid.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=en:odroid_flashing_tools

 

Note: It is possible to use a SD card or an eMMC which can be ordered from the Hardkernel website. We tested the installation with a SD card type Micro-SD-HC Class 10 with a size of 16GB.

 

After the image has been installed, we recommend starting the application “ODROID Utility” which can be found on the desktop. From this application you can resize your file system. This allows the usage of the complete space of the used SD card.

 

Note: Please refer to the Installation Guide for Linux on how to connect a camera, aquire images and build an application.

 

Installing Baumer GAPI SDK

To install the Baumer GAPI SDK download the ODROID-XU4 software package from the Baumer website (www.baumer.com). You can download the software package directly to the ODROID-XU4 by connecting it to the internet. Then install the software package by using the Linux terminal. Change to the directory where the downloaded file is stored (e.g. Downloads).

The file is called “baumer-gapi-sdk-Linux-vxxxxx-Ubuntu-16.04-ODROID-XU4.deb” (xxxxx is a version number). Start the installation by executing the following command:

 

# sudo dpkg -i baumer-gapi-sdk-Linux-vxxxx-Ubuntu-16.04-ODROID-XU4.deb

 

CPU Usage and Power Consumption

Frame Rate

Data Rate

Power Consumption

CPU Usage

5 fps

100 Mbit/s

5.5 W

3 %

40 fps

782 Mbit/s*

8.2 W

21 %

Table 1: CPU Usage and Power Consumption

Table 1 shows the CPU usage and power consumption of the ODROID-XU4 during constantly getting pictures from a Baumer GigE industrial camera. For that the Baumer SDK example 001 (image capturing by polling) with an increased amount of requested images was used.

 

Note: Measurements progressed with optimized network configuration. The used camera model was
VLG-23M.

 

*) 782 Mbit/s is the top data rate with what the ODROID-XU4 received error-free images. Therefor the data rate of the camera was reduced by setting a Streaming Channel Packet Delay of 20000 ticks

 

 


Support

Please contact our Technical & Application Support Center with any questions.

Phone: +49 3528 4386 845
E-mail: [email protected]

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