NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Setup Guide

The Jetson AGX Orin from NVIDIA is a single-board computer that supports modern AI workloads and application development. Follow this guide to set up the Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit to prepare your NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin for viam-server installation.

The grey and chunky front of the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin single-board computer development kit.

Note

This board is experimental. Stability is not guaranteed. This guide assumes that you have a Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit with a Jetson AGX Orin module and reference carrier board, but you may want to use a different carrier board to incorporate your Orin into your robot. If so, the type of carrier board you use will affect your hardware requirements.

Hardware Requirements

You need the following hardware, tools, and software to install viam-server on a Jetson AGX Orin with the Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit:

Initial Setup with Display Attached:

A Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit
A PC monitor (HDMI or DisplayPort)
USB keyboard and mouse
A DisplayPort to HDMI adapter/cable, to connect the Orin to the monitor
USB Type-C power supply, to power the Orin (included with the AGX Orin Developer Kit)
(Optional) Ethernet cable, to connect the Orin to the internet without Wifi access

Initial Setup in Headless Mode:

A Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit
An internet-connected Windows, Linux, or Mac computer
A way to connect the computer to the Orin (for example, the USB Type-A to USB Type-C Cable included with the AGX Orin Developer Kit)
(Optional) If your computer doesn’t have a USB Type-A port, you may need to attach a USB-C hub or similar device to your computer to connect to the Orin
USB Type-C power supply, to power the Orin (included with the AGX Orin Developer Kit)
(Optional) Ethernet cable, to connect the Orin to the internet without Wifi access

Jetson Orin Setup Guide

Follow the instructions in Getting Started with Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit to boot up your Orin for the first time.
If you have already booted up your Orin, start with “Step 2 - Install JetPack Components” to make sure you have installed the latest NVIDIA JetPack components.
Look at the Troubleshooting section below for help navigating these instructions. Once you have reached Next Steps, return to the Viam docs.
Your Jetson AGX Orin now has a Viam-compatible operating system installed. Continue to our viam-server installation guide. Note that the Jetson AGX Orin has aarch64 CPU architecture.

Tip: `viam-server` installation with `curl`

If curl is not installed on your Orin, run sudo apt install curl before downloading the viam-server binary.

If this command fails, try using wget http://packages.viam.com/apps/viam-server/viam-server-latest-aarch64.AppImage to download the viam-server binary.

Serial Communication Protocol Tips

Data Sheet ID	GPIO Header Pin	Viam Bus ID	`jetson-io.py` ID	`/dev` Path ID	Notes
I2C_GP2_DAT, I2C_GP2_CLK	3, 5	`1`	`i2c2`	`dev/i2c2`
I2c_GP5_DAT, I2C_GP5_CLK	27, 28	`7`	`i2c8`	`dev/i2c8`
SPI1_DOUT, SPI1_DIN, SPI1_SCK, SPI1_CS0, SPI1_CS1	19, 21, 23, 24, 26	`0`	`spi1`	`dev/spi1`	Must be enabled, must add `spidev` to `/etc/modules`

Troubleshooting

NVIDIA Step 1 - Run through Ubuntu Setup (oem config)
- Headless Mode Tips:
  - Once you reach step e which instructs you to connect through the host host serial port, the instructions to connect are immediately under step e. Follow those steps according to the type of computer you’re using.
  - After running sudo screen, note that the Password input prompt immediately following refers to your computer’s system password.
- “Jetson Initial configuration” (oem-config) Command Prompt Tips:
  - App Partition: default is fine.
  - Nvomodel mode: default is fine.
  - Chromium install: not necessary, you can skip.
  - Signing into online accounts: not necessary, you can skip.
NVIDIA Step 2 - Install JetPack Components
- After running sudo apt dist-upgrade, if you are prompted with “Package distributer has shipped an updated version” hit y to install the updated version.
- Do not run sudo apt install nvidia-jetpack in your terminal until after sudo reboot has completed.
- If your board is powered off after sudo reboot has completed and refuses to turn on, disconnect and reconnect the power cable.
- It is normal for JetPack installation to take a very long time, up to an hour or more.

You can find additional assistance in the Troubleshooting section.

You can also ask questions in the Community Discord and we will be happy to help.