Aaeon® UP Board setup with 2x Intel® RealSense™ Depth Camera D415

[AOnga]

Based on https://click.intel.com/intelr-realsensetm-depth-camera-d415-aaeonr-up-board.html this offer, I would like to know if the Aaeon® UP Board is capable of fully handling two Intel® RealSense™ Depth Camera D415, and if not, what are the restrictions ?

I noticed that their is only 1x USB 3.0 OTG port on the board, and I know that each camera need a USB 3.0 port at minimum to deliver their full potential. So I assume it is possible to use a USB Hub, like in https://realsense.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/63/Multiple_Camera_WhitePaper_rev1.1.pdfhttp:// this case with a

Intel Skull-Canyon NUC PC (I also know that many people have done that already on other boards).

I would like a confirmation of the viability of this setup though.

Regards

[idata]

Hello AntoineWefit,

Thank you for your interest in the Intel RealSense D415 cameras.In order to connect two or more Intel RealSense devices you will need to follow the instructions found here: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/emerging-technologies/intel-realsense-technology/RealSense_Multiple_Camera_WhitePaper.pdfYou are right, you will need a USB 3.0 hub in order to connect both cameras. Please make sure that you are using a USB Hubs that supports external power supplies.Please let me know if I can assist you with any other information.Regards,Eliza

[AOnga]

Thank you for the quick reply Eliza.

I am aware of the connection instructions, I just want to be sure that https://click.intel.com/intelr-realsensetm-depth-camera-d415-aaeonr-up-board.html this board can handle two D415 simultaneously (in terms of processing power) ? In the paper, the multiple cameras setup has been tested with "an Intel Skull Canyon NUC PC (with Intel i7 - 6700HQ Quad Core Processor 2.6GHz up to 3.5GHz)", which is far more powerful than the Aaeon UP Board.

It is sold as a "combo" (board + 1x D415), but what about 2 cameras ? Can we achieve max FPS and resolution with the Aaeon UP Board + 2x D415 ?

Please make sure that you are using a USB Hubs that supports external power supplies.

Thank you for pointing that out.

Regards

[idata]

Hello AntoineWefit,

Yes, the board should support both cameras working simultaneously as long as they receive enough power. On the link above mentioned, on page 5, B. Power it is stated that each camera will use about 2W. A powered HUB will normally provide 12.5W or more so that will be enough.Regarding your question about the FPS and resolution, I would recommend to check out the tables on page 3, 2. Multi-camera considerations as there is explained exactly how well it works with different resolutions, FPS, camera used and what are the Bandwidth limitations for using a USB hub.Kindly let me know if I can provide you any other information. Best regards,Eliza

[AOnga]

So to summarize, I think it is safe to state the followings.

Setting up multiple cameras require attention on 2 major factors (in terms of performance) :

• Bandwith
• Power (electrical & CPU/GPU requirements)

The first one depending directly of the port connection to the board, which must be USB 3.0 to achieve max performance. Connecting the cameras to an USB Hub is possible but with a slight loss of performance compared to the connection to dedicated ports.

At high frame rate/resolution (Depth: 1280x720, 30fps + Left Mono: RGB 1280x720, 30fps) and using 2 cameras, loss of frames will happen with the USB Hub.

However, below that configuration, it is possible to reliably use up to 4 cameras without much trouble (see paper).

One should also be careful with the electrical power consumption (~2W per camera), and use a powered USB Hub or an "independently-powered-USB-ports" board.

Sadly, it is not clear what is the minimal configuration to run "n" camera(s). As the tests has been done with a very decent rig, it doesn't give much information about limitations due to the hardware (I will try to investigate a bit more).

According https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/emerging-technologies/intel-realsense-technology/RealSense_Multiple_Camera_WhitePaper.pdf to this paper.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. If no other information is provided, I'll change the status of the discussion to "answered".

Thank you Eliza for your time !

Regards

[idata]

Hello AntoineWefit,

Thank you for your patience. Indeed you are right, there will be a loss of frames using the USB Hub. However, the problem will not appear from the board that you are using. Because according to the D400 Datasheets, there is no minimum requirement for which processor is used. Link here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025567/emerging-technologies/intel-realsense-technology.html https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025567/emerging-technologies/intel-realsense-technology.htmlTheoretically, the board should be able to accommodate for 2 D415 cameras, with limited frame rate/resolution so long as power consumption is monitored. So to summarize, if you will need a high frame rate/resolution (Depth: 1280x720, 30fps + Left Mono: RGB 1280x720, 30fps) (as you mentioned above) and use 2 cameras, the best option will be indeed a PC that has multiple USB 3.0 ports. Hope this helps you and if not, let me know please if I can provide you any other information!Looking forward to your response!Kind regards,Eliza

[AOnga]

So to summarize, if you will need a high frame rate/resolution (Depth: 1280x720, 30fps + Left Mono: RGB 1280x720, 30fps) (as you mentioned above) and use 2 cameras, the best option will be indeed a PC that has multiple USB 3.0 ports.

Look like the http://www.up-board.org/upsquared/ Up² Board might be a good choice then : multiple USB 3.0 ports + plenty of processing power (just to be safe).

Thus, the USB Hub shouldn't be needed.

Thanks again for your help !

Regards

[idata]

Hello AntoineWefit,

I am glad I could help you.Wish you best of luck with your project!Kindest regards,Eliza

[MartyG]

Yes, multiple USB 3.0 ports should be preferable, because the cameras should work better when each port has its own independent USB controller, which is much better than ports sharing USB controllers on a USB hub.

[MartyG]

It is also worth mentioning that if budget is not a consideration in your project, this year's very powerful NUC 8 Hades Canyon PC has multiple USB 3 ports.

[AOnga]

For anyone who wanted to know, I did a few tests and I confirm that a Up Squared board handles two D415 without difficulties.

[MartyG]

Awesome, thanks so much for the confirmation!

[idata]

Hello AntoineWefit,

For my project, I am planning to connect two or three D415 sensors to a single up board or to an Intel NUC. Could you please post the specifications(processor type and RAM memory) of the up-squared board that you have tested with 2 sensors?

Thanks in advance!

[AOnga]

Specs :

CPU Intel Celeron N3350

RAM 4GB

Storage 32GB

Other specs are the same for all models.

From my experience, your priorities to choose a board to control some Intel RealSense are :

- It must have as much USB 3.0 ports as cameras (absolute necessity if you want to exploit easily the full potential of the cameras)

- Depending of your application, it'll be much more comfortable to have a beefy rig. For example, if you plan to streams at full resolution with all your cameras simultaneously, you might want a higher end board.

You may want to take a look at the white paper posted earlier in this thread, the comparison arrays will help you anticipate the performance of your system in a multi cameras setup.

[idata]

What is the configuration did you tested? Did you test with 1280 x 720 @30fps(depth + color) for both sensors?

[AOnga]

I tried both cameras at max res :

1280 x 720 at 30fps (depth)

+

1920 x 1080 at 30fps (color)

With the Intel RealSense Viewer, it was a bit slow to be honest, but it worked. I guess the rendering in the Viewer window is hungry for GPU processing power which is of course lacking on small boards without dedicated graphic card.

But as I said, I don't think that you can really ask for more in real conditions, compact solutions like the Up Squared rarely come with high processing power... Or you might want to choose a NUC instead.

To give you an example, in my case I just take 3D and image captures (no streaming + rendering) and it's working great.