Venice MIPI DSI / CSI Hardware

The Venice family of rugged and industrial Single Board Computers feature MIPI Display Serial Interface (DSI) and Camera Serial Interface (CSI) signals on many of the boards. This allows for displays and cameras or video input to the SBC.

There are 1000s of LCD displays from 5inches to 20 inches on the market and each may require a custom integration with the Gateworks MIPI DSI connector. Gateworks has pre-tested and pre-approved the following displays here

50-pin MIPI Media Connector

A 50-pin MIPI Media Connector is available on the Venice GW720x/GW730x/GW740x SBCs with the following signalling:

• 4-lane (4D+C) CSI (supports a maximum bitrate of 1.5Gbps on IMX8MM)
  • Allows for camera / video input to the SBC
• 4-lane (4D+C) DSI (supports a maximum bitrate of 1.5Gbps on IMX8MM; up to 1080p60 display)
  • Allows for a LCD Display to be connected to the SBC
• Bi-directional I2S audio
• I2C
• 4x GPIO

• Note: If using a GW7200, revision C or newer is required

MIPI Sample Schematic

Please also view the hardware manual of the respective SBC.

MIPI Mounting Hole

Raspberry Pi Display & Camera

Not every Raspberry Pi Display will work out of the box. Any RPi display or camera requires the Gateworks GW16136 Raspberry Pi Adapter board

Below are screens Gateworks has evaluated using the required GW16136 MIPI Adapter board.

• ​5-inch DFR0550 LCD Touchscreen Display
• ​7-inch DFR0678 LCD Touchscreen Display

Gateworks has tested with a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 2 as a demo, please see more information here: Venice Capture Devices - RPi Camera

GW16136 RaspberryPi Camera and Display Adapter

The GW16136 RaspberryPi Camera and Display Adapter connects to the GW720x and GW730x boards 50-pin MIPI Media connector and provides the following (see ​RaspberryPi v4 schematics for details):

• 15pin Camera Interface with 2-lane MIPI CSI, 1x GPIO, 1x I2C (MX8MM I2C3)
  • MIPI_GPIO4 is IMX8MM GPIO1_01
  • Note the pin numbers on the connector silkscreen are flipped
• 15pin Display Interface with 3-lane MIPI CSI, 1x I2C (MX8MM I2C3)
  • MIPI_GPIO3 is connected to IMX8MM GPIO4_01 via 1Kohm
  • MIPI_GPIO1 is connected to IMX8MM GPIO4_04 via 1Kohm
  • Note the pin numbers on the connector silkscreen are flipped

This adapter plugs into the 50-pin MIPI Media header on the Gateworks SBC. The adapter brings all the DSI signals to one connector and CSI to another. The adapter was built in mind to be used with Raspberry Pi displays and cameras.

Additional Linux kernel driver support is required for various MIPI, I2C and I2S devices.

Purchase the GW16136 on the Gateworks shop: ​https://shop.gateworks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=70_86&product_id=236

Alternate Displays

Densitron ​MIPI Displays makes several MIPI based displays with touchscreen options. Densistron can also customize the display's adapter board for volume projects to connect directly with the Venice MIPI DSI/CSI connector. Please note these screens will require software driver integration as described here

GW16145 MIPI Media Breakout board

This adapter plugs into the 50-pin MIPI Media header on the Gateworks SBC. The adapter brings all the signals to a 50 pin header that allows for a cable to be connected. Connector used on the GW16145: Hirose DF20F-50DP-1V(56).

The GW16145 50-pin connector mapping is as follows:

To make a cable that plugs into the GW16145, use Hirose DF20A-50DS-1C (Note also requires crimps)

• ​https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/hirose-electric-co-ltd/DF20A-50DS-1C/679773

Additional Linux kernel driver support is required for various MIPI, I2C and I2S devices.

Audio

The MIPI connector contains SAI (synchronous audio interface) audio signals that support I2S. It is recommended to choose a desired codec chip and build an adapter that connects onto the MIPI header to implement audio.

It should be noted that audio can also be implemented over USB.

Audio code examples could include:

• Texas Instrument TLV320AIC3105IRHBR
• Maxim 98089 low-power stereo codec
• Cirrus Logic WM8904CGEFL
• Cirrus Logic WM8524

For development, a GW16145 adapter could be cabled to an audio codec breakout board such as from ​Sparkfun

Gateworks can also be hired to create custom audio designs.

Venice MIPI DSI / CSI Software

This wiki page covers all hardware related information to the Venice MIPI interfaces. Software is also a very important aspect, and all software information is covered on the venice/multimedia page.

Please note, a display of any kind needs a software driver for the chip used on the display as well as a software driver for the IMX MIPI-DSI controller. These drivers are not trivial and if a chip is on the display that doesn't have an existing driver for it, one will need datasheets and reference manuals to write the driver - this is not an easy lift and would require strong software expertise.

Please note this software effort has basically already been completed for our pre-approved and tested displays here

MIPI-CSI Camera Support

Gateworks has tested with a Raspberry Pi camera as a demo, please see more information here: Venice Capture Devices - RPi Camera