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SK-TDA4VM Setup Guide

Hardware requirements

A Texas Instruments TDA4VM single-board computer
A USB-C power cable to power the TDA4VM board
A microSD card
A desktop or laptop computer for flashing the microSD card
A way to connect the microSD card to the computer (a microSD slot or microSD reader)
An Ethernet cable
An HDMI cable

Required downloads

Download the following files to your computer:

Download the PROCESSOR-SDK-LINUX-SK-TDA4VM — Linux SDK for edge AI applications on TDA4VM Jacinto™ processors image.
Next, download and install the Balena Etcher for your desktop/laptop OS. You will use the Balena Etcher to flash the microSD card.

Flash the image

Important

You must extract the image from the zip file before flashing the microSD card.

Insert the microSD card into a reader connected to your computer.
Launch Balena Etcher.
Click Flash from File to open the file selector.
Navigate to and select the image you downloaded.
Click Select Target to choose the storage device corresponding to your microSD card from the selector window.
Click on the desired device, then click Select to continue.
Click Flash!. If you receive a warning concerning the size of the microSD card, ensure that you have inserted the proper microSD and also selected the proper device, then click, Yes, I’m sure to flash the board. The flashing and verification process may take 10-20 minutes, depending on your system.
On completion of the flashing and validation process, remove the microSD card from your computer and insert it into the TDA4VM.

Successful image flash completion screen.

Install Viam dependencies on the TDA4VM

Connect the board to Ethernet.
Connect the board to a monitor with the HDMI cable.
Connect the board to power using the USB-C power cable.
Use the credentials and IP address displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the monitor to SSH into the board.

From the SSH session on the TDA4VM board:

Clone the TDA4VM repo:

git clone https://github.com/viam-labs/tda4vm-setup.git

Navigate to the setup directory:
```
cd tda4vm-setup/
```
Make the server setup script executable:
```
chmod +x tda4vm-viam-setup.sh
```
Launch the setup script to install viam-server dependencies:
```
./tda4vm-viam-setup.sh
```
Once this process completes, the board will reboot.

Install `viam-server`

viam-server is distributed for Linux as an AppImage. The AppImage is a single, self-contained binary that runs on 64-bit Linux systems running the aarch64 or x86_64 architectures, with no need to install any dependencies (except for FUSE, which is required by the AppImage format).

To install viam-server on a Linux computer:

Go to the Viam app. Create an account if you haven’t already.
Add a new machine by providing a name in the New machine field and clicking Add machine:
Navigate to the CONFIGURE tab and find your machine’s card. An alert will be present directing you to Set up your machine part:
Click View setup instructions to open the setup instructions.
Select the appropriate architecture for your machine: Linux / Aarch64, Linux / x86_64, or Linux / Armv7l. On most Linux operating systems, you can run uname -m to confirm your computer’s architecture.
If you selected Linux / Aarch 64 or Linux / x86 also select your installation method:
- viam-agent (recommended): installs viam-agent, which will automatically install (and update) viam-server and provide additional functionality such as provisioning and operating system update configuration.
- manual: installs only viam-server on your machine.
Follow the instructions listed.
Once you have followed the steps on the setup instructions, wait for confirmation that your machine has successfully connected.
On your machine’s page on the Viam app, your machine will show that it’s Live.