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Jetson setup - from a blank board to working 4K cameras

This gets a Jetson Orin Nano Super from a fresh flash to two IMX477 cameras streaming 4032x3040 at 30 fps through Argus. It stops at "the cameras work and you can preview them." Building the stitch/track/record engine is covered in video-stitcher; this repo is the hardware and the driver.

Tested on: Jetson Orin Nano Super, L4T 36.5.0 (JetPack 6.2.2), kernel 5.15.x-tegra. Orin NX works the same way.

Quick path: after flashing (section 1), sudo provisioning/setup.sh runs the driver build + install, the device-tree overlay, and the performance mode (sections 2-3) in one command. The sections below are the detail behind that script.

1. Flash the board

Flash JetPack 6.2.2 (L4T 36.5.0) with NVIDIA SDK Manager, or write the SD-card image. Boot, complete first-run setup, and confirm the release:

cat /etc/nv_tegra_release      # expect "R36 (release), REVISION: 4.x"
uname -r                        # 5.15.x-tegra

You do not need to rebuild the kernel. The IMX477 4K30 driver ships as an out-of-tree module against the stock kernel, so the board stays boot-safe.

2. Install the IMX477 4K30 driver + device-tree overlay (the important part)

NVIDIA's stock nv_imx477 driver does not expose the 4032x3040 Argus mode (near-full-sensor: the array is 4056x3040). This repo's driver/ does. It must be installed as a matched pair - the kernel module and a device-tree overlay that declares the 4032x3040 sensor mode. The bare .ko alone will make Argus fail with INVALID_SETTINGS.

  1. Build + install the module - see driver/README.md. It compiles against your running kernel headers and installs to /usr/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates/. Keep a backup of the stock module first (the README shows how), then sudo depmod -a.

  2. Apply the device-tree overlay that adds the 4032x3040 mode. The overlay is applied through the extlinux boot config (an OVERLAYS line, or a patched base DTB). The scripts are in driver/dtbo_patches/ (apply.sh / revert.sh).

  3. Reboot, then confirm the mode is live:

sudo systemctl restart nvargus-daemon
gst-launch-1.0 nvarguscamerasrc sensor-id=0 num-buffers=1 ! fakesink 2>&1 | grep -A20 'Available Sensor modes'
# expect a "4032 x 3040" entry at 30 fps

If you see INVALID_SETTINGS, the module and the overlay are out of sync - the module was installed but the overlay's mode table does not match, or vice versa. They are a pair; re-check both.

3. Performance mode

The capture + stitch pipeline wants full clocks. Set the max power profile and lock clocks:

sudo nvpmodel -m 2          # MAXN_SUPER on Orin Nano Super
sudo jetson_clocks

Make it persistent with a small systemd unit (RemainAfterExit=yes) so it survives reboots. MAXN_SUPER holds the clocks up for capture and encode.

4. Preview + verify the cameras

Preview tooling is in provisioning/:

  • preview.py - a low-latency live preview with a sharpness overlay, for framing and setting focus on the M12 lenses. Point it at the board with --host <hostname-or-ip> (default reco-jetson; Tailscale, mDNS, or LAN) and set RECO_SSH_USER if the SSH user differs.
  • reset_sensor.sh - restarts nvargus-daemon to release a stuck sensor.

The cameras run through Argus (nvarguscamerasrc); there is no custom V4L2 path to set up.

5. Calibrate + run

Once both cameras preview cleanly and are focused, calibrate the stereo rig (calibration/) to produce a match.json, then build and run the engine (video-stitcher) against it.

Gotchas (ranked)

  1. The driver and the overlay are a matched pair. The .ko alone breaks Argus. Install both, depmod, reboot.
  2. The teardown SIGABRT is cosmetic. On L4T 36.5 the Argus client can throw a malloc abort at teardown after a clean capture. Recordings finalize fine; do not reflash chasing it.
  3. A stuck sensor after a crash clears with sudo systemctl restart nvargus-daemon (or reset_sensor.sh), not a reboot.
  4. Keep the stock kernel. The driver is out-of-tree on purpose so a bad build never bricks boot; the stock module backup lets you revert instantly.