Ezurio + Arducam: Connected SOMs with a Vision

Finding the Right Fit for Embedded Vision

Ezurio’s line of System-on-Modules (SoMs) represent a richly-featured platform for embedded development up and down the scale of configuration options like processor speed, memory, temperature requirements, and more. We offer our customers a broad array of design options to help fit their applications, as well as custom SBC development for a tailored, perfect fit. 

One challenge that faces all manufacturers in the embedded hardware development business is vision systems. It’s more than just finding the right camera: it’s managing the integration, establishing the vision pipeline, optimizing and tuning that implementation for performance, image quality, and power consumption. The truth is it’s one of the more complicated aspects of embedded design, and finding the right vision component can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. 

Typically customers struggle with multiple aspects of camera integration. Identifying which camera, how to establish a vision pipeline to the processor, sometimes finding later that a chosen camera doesn’t meet the requirements and forcing a redesign, and more. This is a complicated, months-long process in some cases. 

Ezurio is now able to leverage our own work in this field by offering customers access to our validated, production-ready solutions with Arducam. Arducam’s mission is simply stated: Simplifying embedded vision for all. To that purpose, they offer a broad array of vision hardware and software solutions. Leveraging their expertise, OEMs can find a rapid route to adding vision intelligence to their designs, saving significant time and development costs in what is known to be a particularly tricky development effort. And because they’re mix-and-match friendly, you can try multiple camera designs with different processors and ultimately work with Ezurio and Arducam to optimize the cost in your final production design. 

Rather than starting from scratch, OEMs can leverage our pre-integrated support of Arducam’s xISP series of cameras across select Ezurio SMARC SOMs (in particular, we’ve selected the IM678 because of its promising balance between cost and performance). This streamlines development for application like AI-driven inspection, smart kiosks, robotics, and industrial monitoring. It’s another in a long list of ways Ezurio offers customers a faster route to market by lending our efforts and expertise to our customers’ designs. 

Why Arducam and the xISP Series

Arducam is a leader in embedded vision, known for delivering high-quality camera modules and ISPs purpose built for system integration. They specialize in MIPI camera modules optimized for NVIDIA, Raspberry Pi, and now Ezurio platforms. The xISP cameras can be purchased with an RPI22 adapter to mate directly to our Universal SMARC and OSM carrier boards. This gives developers more freedom to rapidly innovate without spending months tuning image pipelines. This is precisely the kind of offering that fits Ezurio’s mission to bring to our customers: faster integration, proven solutions, and a smooth route to market. 

The Arducam product that Ezurio has integrated into our SMARC SOM lineup is the Aducam B0541 –  and it takes a significant amount of guesswork out of image signal processing for embedded designers. The 8.3 megapixel Darksee camera’s pre-tuned image signal processor ensures superior image output, even in low-light conditions. It’s equipped with the Sony STARVIS2 image sensor (IMX678) for clear and detailed images, but also supports a wide range of image sensors, all the way up to support for 50 megapixel resolution. It’s cost effective, features open source drivers, and simplifies integration with a single kernel driver for all cameras. 

As previously mentioned, this integration effort isn’t limited only to the IMX678. Because the xISP series features a standard software interface and the cameras share a common hardware interface, all xISP cameras can use the same software driver.

Whereas the typical integration process requires customers to work with a silicon or SOM vendor to supply them with a BSP that supports video and then work with a camera vedor to integrate, our partnership with Arducam cuts all of that development effort off of our customers’ schedules. There’s no longer a need to go back and forth between your vendors to design in a vision system: Ezurio and Arducam help you hit the ground running. 

Ezurio’s work integrating the B0541 camera means OEMs can hit the ground running on day one with a fully-featured vision solution. Arducam’s plug-and-play xISP architecture removes months of software effort, while Ezurio helps ensure compatability at the system level, reducing risk and speeding up time to market. This is an extension of Ezurio’s mission for our customers, and it’s a perfect fit for SOM and SBC-based embedded development. 

Learn More about Arducam

Visit our website to learn more about our partnership with Arducam – specifics about the B0541, what Arducam does for their customers, and how to leverage image signal processing in your design. 

Ezurio’s decades of experience in embedded design has led us to develop a broad range of partners, each of which help us solve critical challenges for our customers. Ezurio is your connectivity expert, driven to accelerate your designs and provide you a roadmap not just for today, but for the future. Our custom SBCs provide our customers with exactly the board they need to meet their challenges. And our Canopi framework allows our customers to scale up and down our set of offerings, with the wireless and processing features that support their designs today and a path to resolving the needs of the future. 

Learn more about our line of SOMs and SBCs by visiting our website: 

https://www.ezurio.com/system-on-module 

https://www.ezurio.com/single-board-computer