NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: BlogRahul
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 08:52:23 am
content: Hi all,Anyone using NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit for project.?I am curious to know about it.Why NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit is so popular for Embedded Linux project ?.I see in many job posting recruiter's look's the profile of candidate who has hand's on experience with NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit.

author: DC1MC
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 09:27:11 am
content: Quote from: BlogRahul on July 29, 2022, 08:52:23 amThat is very simple, the NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit is fully open hardware (schematics and layouts are available), it works good and is extremely well supported, both by the NXP official support and the community.So most of the companies that are doing projects with this MCU will clone the design and hire people already familiar with the EVK, this reduces costs and speed-up the development, because most of the time the changes are really minimal, one more little Yocto layer added on the official BSP and done.So this is why.Cheers,DC1MC

author: BlogRahul
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 12:25:44 pm
content: Quote from: DC1MC on July 29, 2022, 09:27:11 amHi,I don't see much difference between NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit and desktop PC. We can't directly interface sensor's into both NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit and desktop PC. We can only use their features like wifi, ethernet, bluetoothIf I run Linux on PC Then I call it Linux system so if I run Linux on NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit then why we should call it embedded Linux system?please clear confusion

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 02:20:10 pm
content: IIRC the imx8 eval kit has expansion connectors. Another option is to buy a different imx8 based board which has more connectivity. The imx8 eval kit isn’t the best fit for all purposes; it is a board that can be used to prototype designs that are geared towards image processing although the gpu runs at 80% of peak performance due to the small heatsink.Either way if you have generic embedded Linux experience, the imx8 platform won't have nasty surprises.

author: DC1MC
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2022, 08:38:27 pm
content: Quote from: BlogRahul on July 29, 2022, 12:25:44 pmWho is these "we" who can't interface sensors directly ? The kit has all current multimedia interfaces available:MIPI-CSI Camera mini-SAS connectorMIPI-DSI Display mini-SAS connectorThe smallest iMX8MM board that I've seen was 2.2x2.2", is a bit difficult to find a PC that smallSo there are two options available:1) You know Linux on a PC, that nowadays means plopping a USB stick or a DVD and press enter, enter, OK, reboot and done. This brings you exactly 0.32% knowledge about embedded systems. If you go to a company asking to be hired to do embedded work, because you know some Linux on PC they will politely laugh you out of the room.or2) You are a professional who has an evaluation kit, studied everything about it, know the whole firmware building process, specifics of the hardware, special hw features, like mandatory signed and encrypted images, how the PMIC works and how the clock system works, how to boot from exotic media: QSPI flash, NAND flash, eMMC and so on,you will not be able to learn practically about these on a PC. Not to mention sensor and display interfaces, OTG USB controller and many other things.On the software side building firmware for iMX8MM based system is pretty different than developing under desktop Linux, especially the low-level parts, like bootloader, M4 co-processor. The build system will run on Linux and for the application processor you also get a Linux OS, but somehow differently organized than a desktop distribution.So in the end, an employer will hire somebody that has at least some experience with an EVK, that is clearly not the best option possible in all situations, but is the most affordable, no employer wants to train you from zero while paying a salary, you claim CV experience with iMX8MM, you have to have experience with it and the best and cheapest way is have your own EVK and use it, understand it and experiment with it. This is how you make yourself valuable for embedded work. Later, after some years of experience with a MCU family you will see the common elements between the members of the family and you can say: "I'm confident that I'll be productive on MCU Y, because I have lot of experience with a similar MCU X, from the same family"But going from Linux on PC to embedded development on iMX8MM MCU (even if both will run Linux) without ever touching an EVK or any other development board, is a step that not many employers are willing to take. But for example if you would have had an iMX6ULL EVK in 2020 and couple of related projects, then you can say with confidence that you can make the jump to iMX8MM.As I've told you first time, iMX8MM is one the "hottest" mainstream MCUs, were the money are, at least until iMX9 series will become mainstream. So the competition in between developers for related jobs is very strong, and a candidate that can prove to have practical experience will be chosen against one that doesn't that applies because it runs Linux, and he installed Linux on a PCAnd the best way to get that experience as a beginner is to have your own EVK, or similar boar,d and use it.On your taxi company you will want to hire experienced car drives, that have their own car for a while, as opposed to bicycle drivers that claims that they will learn how to professionally drive cars, because the bicycle has also wheels and drives on the street.So yeah, this is as much as I can over-explain it to you.

author: rooppoorali
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2022, 11:02:32 am
content: I am not familiar with NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit.It's not available where I live. Could someone please tell me what are its advantages over Raspberry Pi?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2022, 11:34:47 am
content: Quote from: rooppoorali on August 11, 2022, 11:02:32 amThe advantage is that the iMX8 is a processor that:1) you can actually buy for your own design.2) has full documentation and support from NXP3) has 10 years (or more) guaranteed availability4) is available in industrial and automotive versionsThe eval kit is a good starting point for your own design but there are various vendors that supply modules. I do recommend to go for a full custom design if you plan on selling 100 units or more; modules suffer for becoming obsolete / changed and are an expensive solution to begin with.

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2022, 11:38:38 am
content: To the original poster: You are constantly starting threads in the microcontroller section that belong in the embedded computing section.This NXP i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit is a single board computer, not a microcontroller.Please take better notice of this.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2022, 12:09:38 pm
content: Gnif just posted that the RPi is a microcontroller...

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2022, 12:39:30 pm
content: And then he or the original poster moved this thread anywayThank whom ever, it is now in the right board.