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Voxl-camera-server only detects cameras sometimes

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  • S Offline
    S Offline
    swickliff
    Contributor
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    We have experience this issue with several Voxl2s configured the same way. I with 3 cameras on J7L, J7U, and J8L.

    We first notice the issue when the camera streams are not coming up on our GCS.
    We go into the voxl2 to investigate. Sometimes you cannot adb shell or detect the voxl2 through USB. Sometimes it allows you to adb shell but voxl-camera-server does not detect all the cameras.

    Power cycling immediately typically results in the cameras still not being detected and/or the voxl2 not being detected as a USB device.
    Power cycling and waiting ~5min or unplugging and re-plugging in all the cameras typically solves the issue.

    Any idea why this might be the case? Is there a capacitor on the voxl2 that may take several minutes to drain fully?

    The cameras and associated cables don't have any visible damage and will work on other voxl2 boards that don't have this issue.
    We have had this happen to probably 5 or 6 different sets of Voxl2 and cameras.

    We are at a loss for what could be causing this issue.
    Any advice on how to investigate this further?

    ModeratorM 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • S swickliff

      We have experience this issue with several Voxl2s configured the same way. I with 3 cameras on J7L, J7U, and J8L.

      We first notice the issue when the camera streams are not coming up on our GCS.
      We go into the voxl2 to investigate. Sometimes you cannot adb shell or detect the voxl2 through USB. Sometimes it allows you to adb shell but voxl-camera-server does not detect all the cameras.

      Power cycling immediately typically results in the cameras still not being detected and/or the voxl2 not being detected as a USB device.
      Power cycling and waiting ~5min or unplugging and re-plugging in all the cameras typically solves the issue.

      Any idea why this might be the case? Is there a capacitor on the voxl2 that may take several minutes to drain fully?

      The cameras and associated cables don't have any visible damage and will work on other voxl2 boards that don't have this issue.
      We have had this happen to probably 5 or 6 different sets of Voxl2 and cameras.

      We are at a loss for what could be causing this issue.
      Any advice on how to investigate this further?

      ModeratorM Offline
      ModeratorM Offline
      Moderator
      ModalAI Team
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      @swickliff it is most likely a damaged connector or similar somewhere. If there is an issue with camera connectivity it can prevent the board from booting. The connectors on the flex cables are very fragile and are only designed for about 10 insertions, after that they can become unreliable. They aren't meant for moving around a bunch.

      Also, if you try to daisy chain cables together there can be signal integrity issues as there is a maximum length of MIPI around 25cm

      In general, everything is tested prior to shipping. You could have a bad cable in there somewhere

      Can you please share a picture of your setup?

      S 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • ModeratorM Moderator

        @swickliff it is most likely a damaged connector or similar somewhere. If there is an issue with camera connectivity it can prevent the board from booting. The connectors on the flex cables are very fragile and are only designed for about 10 insertions, after that they can become unreliable. They aren't meant for moving around a bunch.

        Also, if you try to daisy chain cables together there can be signal integrity issues as there is a maximum length of MIPI around 25cm

        In general, everything is tested prior to shipping. You could have a bad cable in there somewhere

        Can you please share a picture of your setup?

        S Offline
        S Offline
        swickliff
        Contributor
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        @Moderator

        We have a daisy chain of M0076 to M0036 to M0025
        and another chain with a M0084-1 with a M0149-1 and M0107-2 on it

        PXL_20241017_143207419.jpg

        Thank you for mentioning the limited cycles of insertions/removals. I will keep that in mind going forward.

        VinnyV 1 Reply Last reply
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        • S swickliff

          @Moderator

          We have a daisy chain of M0076 to M0036 to M0025
          and another chain with a M0084-1 with a M0149-1 and M0107-2 on it

          PXL_20241017_143207419.jpg

          Thank you for mentioning the limited cycles of insertions/removals. I will keep that in mind going forward.

          VinnyV Offline
          VinnyV Offline
          Vinny
          ModalAI Team
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Hi @swickliff
          Is it possible you have a mix of M0054's, M0054-1's and M0054-2's?
          For details on what that means, please see this docs post: https://docs.modalai.com/m0054-versions/

          S 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • VinnyV Vinny

            Hi @swickliff
            Is it possible you have a mix of M0054's, M0054-1's and M0054-2's?
            For details on what that means, please see this docs post: https://docs.modalai.com/m0054-versions/

            S Offline
            S Offline
            swickliff
            Contributor
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            @Vinny It is possible that there are a few M0054-2's in the mix. Majority of the Voxl2's giving us issues at the moment are M0054-1's.

            VinnyV 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • S swickliff

              @Vinny It is possible that there are a few M0054-2's in the mix. Majority of the Voxl2's giving us issues at the moment are M0054-1's.

              VinnyV Offline
              VinnyV Offline
              Vinny
              ModalAI Team
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Hi @swickliff
              If this is still troubling you, are you willing to do an RMA so we can inspect and make sure things are solidly setup again for you?
              You can get started by reaching out here: rma@modalai.com

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