Orange Pi 3 LTS Setup Guide
The Orange Pi 3 LTS is a highly compact, open-source single-board computer equipped with dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0. It can run Ubuntu, Android10, or Debian distributions.

Follow this guide to set up your Orange Pi 3 LTS to run viam-server
.
Hardware requirements
- Development machine: laptop or computer workstation
- An Orange Pi 3 LTS
- A 5V 3A power supply with a USB-C connector
- A micro-SD card (TF card): Minimum of 8GB, 16GB recommended
- SD card reader (recommended with USB-C connector)
- A monitor: for display
- HDMI cable: to connect Orange Pi to monitor display
- USB keyboard and mouse
- USB-C to USB-A cables: to connect keyboard and mouse to USB hub or Orange Pi ports (recommended, hardware dependent)
- USB hub with USB-A connector (recommended)
Power your Orange Pi 3 LTS
Before you power the board, you need to install an operating system.
First, download an Orange Pi 3 LTS Ubuntu image to your development machine. We recommend
ubuntu_jammy_desktop
.Unzip the image.
Insert the micro-SD card into the SD card reader and connect the reader to your development machine.
Follow the Orange Pi guide to prepare your microSD card to flash the OS to your micro-SD card using balenaEtcher.
Tip: How to think about building a machine
While flashing your microSD card, we recommend reading How to think about building a machine.
Insert the micro-SD into the Orange Pi.
To power your Orange Pi 3 LTS, connect your power adapter to the LTS’s USB-C port. The LED should light up, which indicates that the board is powered.
Tip
If your board’s LED does not light up when powered, try re-flashing your micro-SD card with the ubuntu_jammy_desktop
image or using a different micro-SD card.
The Orange Pi will only power on with a compatible operating system installed.
To connect to a display, connect the HDMI cable to the Orange Pi’s HDMI port and the other end to your monitor. Then, connect your keyboard and mouse to the two USB-A ports on your Orange Pi. Alternatively, you can connect your peripherals to a USB hub and connect the USB hub to your Orange Pi’s USB-A port.
Tip
For board schematics, consult the Orange Pi 3 LTS documentation.
Once the Orange Pi successfully boots, you should be greeted with the Orange Pi desktop display. If you are prompted for a login password, note that the default password for Orange Pi devices is “orangepi”.
Establish a network connection
The Orange Pi 3 LTS comes equipped with a wireless network antenna. To connect to WiFi through the desktop, click on the WiFi icon in the top right of the monitor display, select your preferred network or hotspot, and enter the password.
Tip
You can also connect to WiFi while connected to the Orange Pi on the terminal with several different methods, including the nmcli
tool.
For more information, consult the official user manual (page 80).
Install viam-server
Launch the browser on your Orange Pi display by selecting Applications from the left-hand menu, then Internet, then Firefox Web Browser.
Also, launch the terminal by selecting Applications and Terminal.
Complete the following instructions to install viam-server
, noting that if you are prompted for a password in the terminal, the default password for Orange Pis is “orangepi”.
viam-server
is the open-source software that drives your hardware and connects your device to the cloud.
Install viam-server
on the computer or single-board computer (SBC) that is directly connected to your hardware (for example sensors, cameras, or motors):
Make sure your computer or SBC is powered on and connected to the internet.
Create a Viam account on app.viam.com. You can configure and manage devices and data collection in the web UI.
Create a new machine using the Add machine button in the top right corner of the LOCATIONS tab in the app. A machine represents your device.
On your machine’s page, click View setup instructions.
Select Linux / Aarch64.
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 onlyviam-server
on your machine.
Follow the instructions on the page to install
viam-server
and connect it to the cloud with your machine’s unique credentials.After you install
viam-server
, a secure connection is automatically established between your machine and Viam. When you update your machine’s configuration,viam-server
automatically gets the updates.You are ready to configure supported hardware on your machine.
Try an example
Once you’ve installed viam-server
and your machine has come online, if your machine has a webcam, you can try an example project:
Click the + icon next to your machine part in the left-hand menu and select Insert Fragment.
Add the
DeskSafariGame
fragment by theRobot Land
organization and click Insert Fragment. This adds a number of resources to your machine:- a camera component which connects to the webcam
- machine learning resources to run a model and apply it to the camera stream
- control logic that implements a game
Save your config and review the available resources on the CONFIGURE tab.
Log into this Viam application with your Viam credentials and select your machine. The application provides a UI for playing the game
Select a camera and press the Start Game button. The goal of the game is to find and show specific objects to the camera.
If you’d like to learn how to create this game, see the Desk Safari tutorial.
Should the game not work, return to your machine in the Viam web UI and check the LOGS tab for errors.
Next steps
Configure an orangepi
board as a component to integrate the GPIO pins of the single-board computer into your smart machine.
Then continue by configuring connected hardware or by following a tutorial:
Troubleshooting
Visit the Orange Pi Forum for troubleshooting tips and tricks specific to the Orange Pi.
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