Powering Depth Cameras from Thunderbolt ports.

[comsci]

We are designing a system that needs to power two Kinect for Azure depth cameras from a NUC.

NUC is NUC11TNKi5 and using the supplied power brick.

The camera power requirements are 1.5A at 5V:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/Kinect-dk/hardware-specification#power-device

The cables we are using are 1m and claim to support 3A:
https://www.ebuyer.com/822466-startech-com-usb-c-to-usb-c-cable-m-m-1-m-usb315cc1m

But on plugging the cameras in we get flashing amber LEDs unless we plugin in extra power via the camera's auxilliary power port.

We are using a custom Yocto linux build on the NUCs but get the same issue with a Windows Install.

Cables and cameras work fine using only Thunderbolt ports on an AsusTek PN50-1 mini PC.

Why don't they work from the NUC? Thunderbolt specs claim 15W minimum PC port power, I only need 7.5W?

Is there any extra configuration required for the power delivery device?

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello comsci,

Thank you for posting on the Intel communities. In order to have a better understanding of the issue, please share with us the following information: 

Download and install the Intel System Support Utility (Intel SSU):

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows- 

Open the application and select "Everything" click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. By default, Intel SSU will take you to the "Summary View". Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".  

Click on "Next", save the report and attach it to your response.

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[comsci]

Hi Josue,

Thanks for the response. Do you have a Linux SSU or can I provide the requried information from other utilities? I don't have Windows installed on the NUC at the moment.

I could reflash to Windows, but this is quite involved. Last time, no network devices were recognised until installing the Intel drivers and Windows also had to go through several further update operations before it was happy.

Best regards,

David

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello comsci,

You can download our Intel® SSU for Linux* systems at the following link:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18895/26735/intel-system-support-utility-for-the-linux-operating-system.html

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[comsci]

OK Excellent. Here's the result of a scan with logs with the two cameras plugged into the thunderbolt ports

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello comsci,

Thank you for the information provided 

I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details. 

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello comsci,

In this case, the Intel® NUC's thunderbolt has a 15W power bus power, 7.5W port bus power. 

Regarding your issues, please let me know if the Type-C cable you are using is the Azure Kinect DK recommended certified cable.

In order to select a good Type-C to Type-C cable:

• The USB-certified cable must support both power and data.
• A passive cable should be less than 1.5m in length. If longer, use an active cable.
• The cable needs to support at least 1.5A. Otherwise, you need to connect an external power supply.

Also, let me know how is the LED blink pattern since there are 2 options for its meaning. 

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[comsci]

Hi Josue,

Thanks for looking into this.

The cables we are using are 1m and claim to support 3A and 5gbps transfer:
https://www.ebuyer.com/822466-startech-com-usb-c-to-usb-c-cable-m-m-1-m-usb315cc1m

We are using a custom Yocto linux build on the NUCs but get the same issue with a Windows Install.

These cables also work fine with an Asus PN-1 mini PC on Windows (but Asus / AMD support for custom linux is almost non-existant)

This LED is blinking Amber with about a 1 Hz frequency and 75% on duty cycle. LED reverts to solid white when extra power is supplied via the auxillary power port on the camera.

Best regards,
David

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello comsci,

Thank you for the information provided, we will continue to check the issue and post back soon with further details 

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello comsci,

In this case, since cable and NUC meet the requirements for the cameras to work, our recommendation is to check with Microsoft for camera configuration and more details that could be causing the system to not work as expected 

Hope this information is useful, if you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Regards,

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician