Getting Started with FRDM-IMX8MPLUS

The i.MX Linux board support package (BSP) is a collection of binary files, source code and support files that are used to boot an Embedded Linux image on a specific i.MX development platform.

Current releases of Linux binary demo files can be found on the Linux download page. Additional documentation is available in the i.MX Linux documentation bundle under the Linux sections of the i.MX Software and Development Tools.

2.1 Overview

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS support booting from eMMC and SD card.

This Getting Started guide only outlines a few methods of flashing the Linux BSP image to an SD card. Experienced Linux developers can explore other options if desired.

2.2 Download NXP Linux BSP Pre-Built Image

The latest prebuilt images for the FRDM-IMX8MPLUS are available on the FRDM i.MX 8M Plus Development Board.

The prebuilt NXP Linux binary demo image provides a typical system and basic set of features for using and evaluating the processor. Without modifying the system, the users can evaluate hardware interfaces, test SoC features and run user space applications.

2.3 Burn NXP Linux BSP Image Using Universal Update Utility (UUU)

In addition to the connections from "Out of the Box" section, connect the USB3.0 OTG (J3) to the host machine using the proper USB cable.

Turn off the board. Refer to the 1.4 Boot Switch Setup section and configure the board to boot in serial download protocol (SDP) mode.

Depending on the OS used in the host machine, the way to transfer the Linux BSP image onto an SD card can vary. Choose an option below for detailed instructions:

$ chmod a+x uuu
$ sudo ./uuu -b sd_all imx-image-full-imx8mpfrdm.rootfs.wic.zst

uuu.exe -b sd_all imx-image-full-imx8mpfrdm.rootfs.wic.zst

In the section, a brief guide of how to build Yocto BSP image for FRDM-IMX8MPLUS is introduced, along with how to add Matter support and how to build Debian release image.

3.1 FRDM-IMX8MPLUS Yocto BSP

The FRDM-IMX8MPLUS BSP release is based on i.MX SW 2024 Q3 release with Yocto Project 5.0 (Scarthgap). To build FRDM-IMX8MPLUS image from source code, please first check i.MX Yocto Project User’s Guide to get familiar with Yocto project and Yocto build. Then please follow below steps to build image for FRDM-IMX8MPLUS.

1. Download i.MX SW 2024 Q3 BSP Release:

$ repo init -u https://github.com/nxp-imx/imx-manifest -b imx-linux-scarthgap -m imx-6.6.36-2.1.0.xml
$ repo sync

2. Integrate FRDM-IMX8MPLUS layer into Yocto code base:

$ cd ${MY_YOCTO}/sources
$ git clone https://github.com/nxp-imx-support/meta-imx-frdm.git 

3. Yocto Project Setup:

$ cd ${MY_YOCTO}
$ MACHINE=imx8mpfrdm DISTRO=fsl-imx-xwayland source sources/meta-imx-frdm/tools/imx-frdm-setup.sh -b frdm-imx8mp

4. Build images:

$ bitbake imx-image-full

5. Flashing SD card image:

$ zstdcat imx-image-full-imx8mpfrdm.rootfs.wic.zst | sudo dd of=/dev/sdx bs=1M && sync

Or using uuu to burn image into SD card:

$ uuu -b sd_all imx-image-full-imx8mpfrdm.rootfs.wic.zst

6. Change boot switch SW5[1:4] to “0011” to select SD card boot, insert the SD card and power up the FRDM-IMX8MPLUS board

3.2 FRDM-IMX8MPLUS Matter Support

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS has support for Matter. To include Matter support, please follow below steps to include Matter layer into Yocto build.

1. Download i.MX SW 2024 Q3 BSP Release:

$ repo init -u https://github.com/nxp-imx/imx-manifest -b imx-linux-scarthgap -m imx-6.6.36-2.1.0.xml
$ repo sync

2. Download i.MX Matter Yocto layer:

$ cd ${MY_YOCTO}/sources/meta-nxp-connectivity
$ git remote update
$ git checkout imx_matter_2024_q3

3. Integrate FRDM-IMX8MPLUS layer into Yocto code base:

$ cd ${MY_YOCTO}/sources
$ git clone https://github.com/nxp-imx-support/meta-imx-frdm.git 

4. Yocto Project Setup:

$ cd ${MY_YOCTO}
$ MACHINE=imx8mpfrdm-matter DISTRO=fsl-imx-xwayland source sources/meta-imx-frdm/tools/imx-frdm-matter-setup.sh bld-xwayland-imx8mp

5. Build images:

$ bitbake imx-image-multimedia

3.3 FRDM-IMX8MPLUS Debian

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS has support for Debian 12 OS. i.MX Debian Linux SDK distribution is a combination of NXP-provided kernel and bootloaders with a Debian distro user-space image, which includes:

• Debian-based rootfs;
  1. Debian Base (basic packages)
  2. Debian Server (more packages without GUI Desktop)
  3. Debian Desktop (with GNOME GUI Desktop)
• Linux kernel
• BSP components
• Various applications (graphics, multimedia, networking, connectivity, security and AI/ML)

For more details of the NXP Debian Linux SDK Distribution, please check the NXP Debian Linux SDK Distribution for i.MX and Layerscape page.

3.4 Quick Start with Debian

To create an SD card with Debian for FRDM-IMX8MPLUS, please follow below steps.

1. Download flex-installer on the Linux host:

$ wget http://www.nxp.com/lgfiles/sdk/lsdk2412/flex-installer
$ chmod +x flex-installer
$ sudo mv flex-installer /usr/bin

2. Plug the SD card into the Linux host and install the images as below:

# format SD card
$ flex-installer -i pf -d /dev/sdb
# automatically download and install images into SD card
$ flex-installer -i auto -d /dev/mmcblk1 -m imx8mpfrdm

3. Plug the SD card into the FRDM-IMX8MPLUS board and install the extra packages as below:
1) Setup Ethernet network interface by DHCP or setting it manually

$ dhclient -i end0

2) Set correct system time, for example:

$ date -s "22 Nov 2024 09:00:00"

3) Install extra packages for GNOME GUI Desktop version:

$ debian-post-install-pkg desktop

4) Or install extra packages for Server version without GUI Desktop:

$ debian-post-install-pkg server

5) After finishing the installation, run the reboot command to boot up the Debian Desktop/Server system

3.5 Building Debian Images with Flexbuild

To build Debian image with Flexbuild for FRDM-IMX8MPLUS, please follow below steps.

1. Set up the build environment:

$ git clone https://github.com/nxp/flexbuild
$ cd flexbuild && ./setup.env
#Continue to run commands below in case you need to build in Docker due to lack of Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 host
$ bld docker
$ source setup.env

2. Build image with Flexbuild:

$ bld -m imx8mpfrdm

3. Flexbuild usage:
To build individual part of the image, please check below command list for Flexbuild usage:

$ bld uboot -m imx8mpfrdm (compile u-boot image for imx8mpfrdm)
$ bld linux (compile linux kernel for all arm64 i.MX machines)
$ bld bsp -m imx8mpfrdm (generate BSP firmware)
$ bld boot (generate boot partition tarball including kernel, dtb, modules, distro bootscript for iMX machines)
$ bld multimedia (build multimedia components for i.MX platforms)
$ bld rfs -r debian:server (generate Debian server rootfs)
$ bld apps -r debian:server (compile apps against runtime dependencies of Debian server RootFS)
$ bld merge-apps -r debian:server (merge iMX-specific apps into target Debian server RootFS)
$ bld packrfs -r debian:server (pack and compress target debian server rootfs)

To enable faster development for users of all skill levels, NXP provides extensive example applications to showcase various features and capabilities of the platform.

4.1 Application Code Hub

The Application Code Hub  (ACH) repository enables engineers to easily find microcontroller and processor software examples, code snippets, application software packs and demos developed by NXP in-house experts. This space provides a quick, easy and consistent way to find microcontroller and processor applications.

ACH provides filter and search options to quickly find specific applications. With the support of Git capabilities, there is an easy way to import and use applications within user’s development environments.

To learn more details of ACH, please visit this link.

To find available example applications for FRDM-IMX8MPLUS, please select “i.MX” in Device Families as shown below.

Select each example application to check for details.

To get the source code of each example application, click the “Visit on GitHub” button on the top to visit the code repository in NXP GitHub.

4.2 GoPoint for i.MX Applications Processors

The GoPoint for i.MX Application Processors is a user-friendly application launches prebuilt applications packed with the Linux BSP, giving users an excellent out of the box experience and hands on experience with i.MX SoC's capabilities. GoPoint highlights advanced features while providing practical solutions for implementation, with source code and build recipes for the applications provided in GitHub.

To learn more details of GoPoint, please visit this link.

For FRDM-IMX8MPLUS, GoPoint is included in the BSP release by default. To open the GoPoint GUI launcher, press the NXP logo displayed on the top left-hand corner of the screen after the FRDM-IMX8MPLUS boot up as shown below.

Available example applications are shown with icons of screenshot for each application. When selecting the example application, a brief description of this example application is shown on the right side. To launch the currently selected application, click the “Launch Demo” button.

After an application is started, it can then be force-quit by clicking the “Stop Current Demo” button in the launcher (appears once the application is started).

For more details of the usage for each application, please refer to GoPoint for i.MX Applications Processors User's Guide.

Debug Terminal in Linux

Serial Communication Console Setup

The serial-to-USB drivers are available at CH342F Linux Drivers.

On the command prompt of the Linux host machine, run the following command to determine the port number:

$ ls /dev/ttyCH343USB*

The first number is for Arm® Cortex®-A53.

Minicom

Use the following commands to install and run the Minicom program:

1. Install Minicom using the Ubuntu package manager

$ sudo apt-get install minicom

2. Launch Minicom using a console window using the port number determined earlier

$ sudo minicom /dev/ttyCH343USB * -s

Configure Minicom as show in Figure and Exit configure.

Debug Terminal in Windows

Download SDK

The Cortex-M7 MCUXpresso SDK is distributed by the MCUXpresso Web Builder tool.  The MCUXpresso SDK includes a flexible set of peripheral drivers designed to speed up and simplify development of embedded applications. Along with the peripheral drivers, the MCUXpresso SDK provides an extensive and rich set of example applications covering everything from basic peripheral use case examples to demo applications. The MCUXpresso SDK also contains optional RTOS integrations, such as FreeRTOS and Azure RTOS and device stack to support rapid development on devices.

To obtain the MCUXpresso SDK for FRDM-IMX8MPLUS, please follow below steps.

1. Visit MCUXpresso SDK Builder
2. Click the “Select Development Board”

3. Search for “MIMX8ML8xxxLZ” and select it

4. Choose the SDK release version 2.16 and press the “BUILD SDK” button

5. Choose the Host OS, Toolchain and middleware to be included in the SDK, then press the “BUILD SDK” button

6. After the SDK finishes building, click “Download” in the Dashboard page

7. Download the SDK with documentation

8. After the SDK package is downloaded, unpack the package. Please check the release note and “Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK for EVK-MIMX8MP.pdf” document in the docs folder to learn more about Cortex-M7 MCUXpresso SDK

Build Cortex-M7 Program

Please refer to “Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK for EVK-MIMX8MP.pdf” document in the docs folder in the SDK package to learn how to setup toolchain and build cortex-M7 program.

Run Cortex-M7 Program

There are two methods to run a compiled program on Cortex-M7: U-Boot bootaux and Linux remoteproc. After using bootaux or remoteproc to start the Cortex-M7 core, using remoteproc to stop the Cortex-M7 core is for debug purposes only. It is not recommended to stop the Cortex-M7 core from Linux OS in a production system. Before starting the Cortex-M7 core, make sure the debug UART port of the Cortex-M7 core is opened in the debug terminal.

1. Using bootaux in U-Boot

In this example, Cortex-M7 program is first loaded from SD card’s partition 1 in U-Boot. Then Cortex-M7 core is booted by bootaux command. Finally, the Linux is booted on Cortex-A53 core by boot command. Please make sure the Cortex-M7 program binary is stored in the SD card’s partition 1 with fat partition format. In this example, the binary file “hello_world.bin” is used as an example.

After the board is powered up, press any key in the Cortex-A53’s debug terminal to enter U-Boot. Then use following command to start Cortex-M7 core.

u-boot=> fatload mmc 1:1 0x48000000 hello_world.bin
u-boot=> cp.b 0x48000000 0x7e0000 20000
u-boot=> bootaux 0x7e0000

If the Cortex-M7 core boots successfully with this binary file, following log should be printed in the Cortex-M7 debug terminal:



Then run the following command to boot up Linux if needed.

u-boot=> run prepare_mcore
u-boot=> boot

2. Using remoteproc in Linux

In this example, Cortex-M7 program is loaded from Linux’s rootfs and boots with remoteproc. The binary file “imx8mp_m7_TCM_hello_world.elf” is used here as an example.

Note: If you choose to use remoteproc to start the Cortex-M7 core, please make sure you are using “imx8mp-frdm-rpmsg.dtb” to boot the Linux and execute “run prepare_mcore” command in U-Boot as following before starting the Linux OS.

u-boot=> setenv fdtfile imx8mp-frdm-rpmsg.dtb
u-boot=> run prepare_mcore
u-boot=> boot

After Linux boots up, use the following command in the Cortex-A53’s debug terminal to start Cortex-M7 core.

root@imx8mpfrdm:~# echo /lib/firmware/imx8mp_m7_TCM_hello_world.elf > /sys/class/remoteproc/remoteproc0/firmware
root@imx8mpfrdm:~# echo start > /sys/class/remoteproc/remoteproc0/state

If the Cortex-M7 core boots successfully with this binary file, the following log should be printed in the Cortex-M7 debug terminal:

How to Debug

Please refer to application note AN14120: Debugging Cortex-M with VS Code on i.MX 8M, i.MX 8ULP and i.MX 93.

Model Quantization

To be accelerated by the NPU, the neural-network operators must be quantized to either 8-bit (unsigned or signed) or 16-bit (signed). For model quantization, please download latest eIQ toolkit and check the user guide.

Model Inference

To evaluate the NN model’s performance on NPU, the simplest method is to use the benchmark_model tool in Linux BSP. It uses random data as input and gives average inference time for a given number of runs. Here is an example:

root@imx8mpfrdm:~# /usr/bin/tensorflow-lite-2.16.2/examples/benchmark_model --graph=/usr/bin/tensorflow-lite-2.16.2/examples/mobilenet_v1_1.0_224_quant.tflite --external_delegate_path=/usr/lib/libvx_delegate.so

If running successfully, the following log is printed in the debug terminal.

Figure 16. FRDM-IMX8MPLUS Model Inference

Figure 16. FRDM-IMX8MPLUS Model Inference

The benchmark_model tool can also provide an operator profiling report by setting --enable_op_profiling=true in the command. For more usage of benchmark_model, please use --help to check.

root@imx8mpfrdm:~# export VIV_VX_ENABLE_CACHE_GRAPH_BINARY="1"
root@imx8mpfrdm:~# export VIV_VX_CACHE_BINARY_GRAPH_DIR=`pwd`

By setting up these variables, the iterations following the graph initialization are performed many times faster. When evaluating the performance of NN models running on NPU, the time should be measured separately for warmup and inference.

For how to write code in c++ and python to run model inference on NPU, please refer to example applications in GoPoint.

Deploy PyTorch Model

Besides Tensorflow, PyTorch is also a popular deep learning frameworks to build NN models. For how to convert PyTorch models into TensorFlow Lite models, please check application note AN13769: Deploy PyTorch Models to NXP Supported Inference Engines Using ONNX.

Using HiFi 4 DSP

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS has a Cadence® Tensilica® HiFi 4 DSP running up to 800MHz, which is a highly optimized audio processor geared for efficient execution of audio and voice codecs and pre- and postprocessing modules.

To test the DSP, the simplest way is to play an MP3 audio file using the following command:

root@imx8mpfrdm:~# gplay-1.0 --audio-sink="alsasink device=sysdefault:CARD=wm8962audio" MP3_EXAMPLE_FILE.mp3

The gplay-1.0 will automatically choose DSP as audio decoder and play the MP3 file through wm8962 sound card. You should be able to hear the audio from a headset connecting to the 3.5mm JACK port.

For more details of DSP usage, please check “i.MX DSP User's Guide”.

Besides audio signal processing, the DSP also has the capability to be programmed for more generic usage. For how to use DSP to run Machine Learning inference, please check application note AN13336: i.MX 8M Plus HiFi4 TFLM ML Enablement. For how to use DSP to run Zephyr RTOS, please check application note AN13970: Running Zephyr RTOS on Cadence Tensilica HiFi 4 DSP.

Using VPU

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS has a Hantro Video Processing Unit (VPU) includes both decoder and encoder, which supports H.264, H.265, VP8, VP9 decoding and H.264, H.265 encoding.

To test the VPU, the simplest way is to play an MP4 video file using the following command:

root@imx8mpfrdm:~# gplay-1.0 MP4_EXAMPLE_FILE.mp4

The gplay-1.0 will automatically choose VPU as video decoder and play the MP4 file on the Weston desktop. You should be able to see the video playing on the HDMI display if connected.

For more details of how to use VPU API in applications, please check i.MX VPU API Reference Manual.

Using ISP

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS has two Camera Image Signal Processor (ISP). When one camera is used, two ISP can support up to 12MP@30fps or 4kp45. When two cameras are used, each ISP supports up to 1080p80.

To test the ISP, you can use OS08A20 camera with FRDM-IMX8MPLUS.

Note: Please make sure that OS08A20 camera is connected to the MIPI_CSI1 port of FRDM-IMX8MPLUS before power up the board. Then please make sure you are using “imx8mp-frdm-os08a20.dtb” to boot the Linux OS.

u-boot=> setenv fdtfile imx8mp-frdm-os08a20.dtb
u-boot=> boot

After FRDM-IMX8MPLUS boots up with OS08A20 camera connected, please run the following command to open camera preview of OS08A20:

root@imx8mpfrdm:~# gst-launch-1.0 -v v4l2src device=/dev/video3! "video/x-raw,format=YUY2,width=3840,height=2160" ! queue ! waylandsink

If a camera preview is shown on the HDMI display with correct view, then it proves the ISP is working fine. For more details of ISP usage, please check i.MX 8M Plus Camera and Display Guide.

Using GPU

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS has a GC7000 Ultra-Lite Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) operating at up to 16 GFLOPS (high-precision), which supports OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, OpenCL 3.0, OpenVG 1.1, OpenGL 4.0, EGL 1.5, Vulkan 1.1.

To test the GPU performance, the simplest way is to run glmark2-es2-wayland benchmark as the following command:

root@imx8mpfrdm:~# glmark2-es2-wayland --fullscreen

Besides this, there are many other GPU example applications installed in the FRDM-IMX8MPLUS default rootfs under folder /opt/imx-gpu-sdk/. You can try them by directly executing the binary or launch the application from GoPoint.

For more details of GPU usage, please check i.MX Graphics User’s Guide.

Security and Integrity

System security and integrity are always one of the most critical aspects to be considered in product development.

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS support secure boot feature, helping to prevent unauthorized software execution during the device boot sequence. For more details of the secure boot feature, please check application note AN4581: i.MX Secure Boot on HABv4 Supported Devices.

Fast Boot

In certain use cases, there is a requirement for the device boot time, which means the device needs to complete booting in a given time limit.

To optimize the boot time, FRDM-IMX8MPLUS supports falcon mode in U-Boot. Falcon mode is a feature in U-Boot that enables fast booting by allowing SPL to directly start the Linux kernel. It completely skips the U-Boot loading and initialization, with the effect of reducing the time spent in the bootloader.

For how to enable falcon mode and further optimize boot time, please check application note AN14093: Fast Boot on i.MX 8M and i.MX 9 Using Falcon Mode and Kernel Optimizations.

Board Information

• FRDM-IMX8MPLUS Design Files
• FRDM-IMX8MP Demo Images
• i.MX FRDM Software User Guide
• Release Notes for i.MX FRDM Yocto Software

Additional References

In addition to our FRDM i.MX 8M Plus Development Board page, you may also want to visit:

• DY1212W-4856 TFT LCD Panel with LVDS Interface
• IAS Camera to RPi Camera Adapter
• Evaluation Kit for the i.MX 8M Plus Applications Processor

Communities

• MCUXpresso Training Hub
• i.MX Processors
• FRDM Training Hub