This page details how to compile, load, and run the N6Cam BSP.

Table of Contents

References

• https://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers-microprocessors/stm32n6x7.html

• Documentation:

  • User-Manual (UM3249)

  • Reference Manual (RM0486)

  • Programming Manual (PM0273)

Overview

This page will walk you through:

• Requirements (hard/software)

• Compiling the BSP demo

• Loading & running the demo

Requirements

N6Cam

Power

The N6Cam is powered through the USB-C connector on the IO board (3), providing a UVC stream.

Debug

The debug connector (2) provides a standard STDC14 interface to plug a debugger.

Boot Mode

The boot selector switch (1) selects the board's operating mode. Facing the N6Cam from the front (camera):

• Switch to the left: Development mode.

• Switch to the right: Operation mode.

Development Hardware

To debug and flash new firmware you’ll need either one of the following:

• 1 x STLink-V3 programmer

• 2 x STLink-V3MINIE programmer

Note:

• Both options include the STDC14-STDC14 flat cable used to program the N6Cam.

Development Software

Note:

• STM32 tools must be included on the system PATH:

  • STM32CubeIDE.
    By default: C:\ST\STM32CubeIDE_1.17.0

  • STM32CubeProgrammer.
    By default: C:\Program Files\STMicroelectronics\STM32Cube\STM32CubeProgrammer\bin 

Code source

The following steps assume you have a copy of the N6Cam BSP sources release, which contents should look as follows:

This folder will be considered as <ROOT> for the following instructions.

Compiling the demo

Follow these steps to compile:

1. Open STM32CubeIDE

2. Go to File > Import...:

   

   1. (1) Select General > Existing Projects into Workspace

   2. (2) Click Next.

3. Find and import the projects:

   

   1. (1) Click Select root directory

   2. (2) Browse for the sources <ROOT> folder

   3. (3) Select all projects (FSBL, and Standalone)

   4. (4) Click Finish

4. Once loaded, your project should look like this:

   

5. Build both FSBL and Standalone using the “Release” profile

6. The generated binaries can be located at:

   1. FSBL: <ROOT>\Sources\STM32CubeIDE\FSBL\Release\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.FSBL.hex

   2. Standalone: <ROOT>\Sources\STM32CubeIDE\Standalone\Release\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.Standalone.hex

Loading & running the demo

Signing binaries

You'll need to sign the binaries first to enable the N6Cam to run the application in operation mode. To achieve this you’ll need to:

1. Create a “Binaries” folder on <ROOT>

2. Open a terminal on <ROOT> and run the signing command on the compiled binaries:

   1. FSBL:

      STM32_SigningTool_CLI -bin Sources\STM32CubeIDE\FSBL\Release\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.FSBL.bin -nk -of 0x80000000 -t fsbl -o Binaries\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.FSBL.signed.bin -hv 2.3 Binaries\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.FSBL.signed.bin

   2. Standalone:

      STM32_SigningTool_CLI -bin Sources\STM32CubeIDE\Standalone\Release\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.Standalone.bin -nk -of 0x80000000 -t fsbl -o Binaries\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.Standalone.signed.bin -hv 2.3 Binaries\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.Standalone.signed.bin

Loading binaries

With the N6Cam unpowered and STLink unplugged from your host machine.

1. Set the N6Cam switch to development mode

2. Plug the STDC14-STDC14 flat cable to connect the STLink and the N6Cam

3. Plug the N6Cam and the STLink to your host machine

4. Open the STM32CubeProgrammer (if closed):

   1. Configure the external loader:

      

      1. (1) Go to the “External loaders” tab

      2. (2) Search for STM32N6

      3. (3) Select the MX66UW1G45G loader

   2. Connect to the device:

      

      1. (1) Select “ST-LINK” from the dropdown menu

      2. (2) Configure the device as shown: Hot plug mode, with Software reset, for access port 1

      3. (3) Click “Connect”

   3. Flashing the firmware:

      

      1. (1) Go to the “Erasing & Programming” tab

      2. (2) Browse for the binaries and (3) configure the start address as follows:

         1. FSBL:

            1. Image: <ROOT>\Binaries\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.FSBL.signed.bin

            2. Address: 0x70000000

         2. Standalone:

            1. Image: <ROOT>\Binaries\Siana.N6Cam.BSP.Standalone.signed.bin

            2. Address: 0x70080000

      3. (4) Click “Start Programming”

   4. Flashing the AI model:

      

      1. (1) Go to the “Erasing & Programming” tab

      2. (2) Browse for model binaries: <ROOT>\Sources\Model\network_data.hex
         Note: Since this is a hex file you don’t need to set the target address

      3. (3) Click “Start Programming”

5. Disconnect both the N6Cam and the STLink

6. Set the N6Cam to operation mode

Running the demo

These instructions assume you’ve loaded the binaries to the device and the N6Cam is in operation mode.

1. Connect the N6Cam to the host machine

2. Open the viewer tool included in <ROOT>\Tools. Binaries for both Windows and Linux are included

If the flashing process is OK, the N6Cam will be recognized as a UVC device by the host and the viewer will be able to read the stream:

In the image:

1. N6Cam being detected as a camera device on Windows

2. N6CamViewer is streaming video from the device. The image shows a single detection from the people-detect model