Skip to content

Android 11 for Boundary Devices Nitrogenx8M Plus

Android 11 for Boundary Devices' Nitrogen8M Plus

Nitrogen i.MX8M Plus setup

Introduction

The Nitrogen8M Plus System on Module (SOM) is the latest in the Boundary Devices line of i.MX based Nitrogen platforms, leveraging the recently released i.MX 8M Plus processors from NXP. The carrier board kit comes with the Nitrogen8M Plus EVK Carrier board, a Serial Console Cable and 5V Power Supply. The Nitrogen8M Plus is designed for mass production use with a guaranteed 10-year shelf life, FCC Pre-scan results, and a stable supply chain. Industrial temperature and conformal coating options are available.

This technical note introduces the latest Android 11 and shows how to instal the BSP on the Nitrogen 8M Plus with the Boundary Devices carrier board. This release features A/B partitions and full integration with Update Factory for remote updates. Embedded in the build are some useful apps for testing GPIO, PWM, Ethernet, Serial Ports, SPIdev devices and CAN bus.

Release Notes

Here are some important remarks about this build:

  • Android 11 with Linux Kernel 5.4
  • U-Boot bootloader 2020.04
  • Based on NXP release: android-11.0.0_1.2.0
  • Compatible with the Nitrogen8M Plus SOM with the Nitrogen8M Plus EVK Carrier Board
  • 2GB of RAM
  • at least 16GB of eMMC
  • Compatible with any HDMI display
  • Userdebug build with permissive SELinux and disabled DM Verity. DM verify and full chain of trust is suported by Kyentics commercial Android.
  • Android Verified Boot 2.0 is fully supported but disabled here.
  • Virtual Android A/B partitions enabled.
  • This is an unsupported release. For commercial support please contact us.

The build includes the following Kynetics applications:

  • Update Factory
  • Serial TTY handler
  • GPIO handler
  • PWM handler
  • SPI handler
  • CAN bus handler

Flash Instructions

The following steps will guide you through the installation of Android 11 on the Nitrogen8M Plus.

Hardware Requirements

  • Nitrogen8M Plus with the Nitrogen8M Plus EVK Carrier Board
  • A host computer running GNU/Linux or Windows
  • USB-C cable to use Fastboot and ADB

Software Requirements

  • Download the Android 11 for the Nitrogen8M Plus binary image here.

Software installation

  • Set the jumper SW1 on the Nitrogen8M Plus to ON.
  • Connect the USB-C cable from the USB-C port of the Nitrogen8M Plus EVK Carrier Board to the host pc
  • Unzip the archive with the Kynetics Android 11 OS binary images in a directory in the host pc
  • Power up the board with a 5V power adapter.

  • From the Host PC, from the directory with the Android 11 OS binary images: On Linux 

    $ chmod +x uuu
$ sudo ./uuu_imx_android_flash.sh -f imx8mp -e
    On Windows, open a command line with administrator privileges and: 
    $ uuu_imx_android_flash.bat -f imx8mp -e

  • Wait for the [Done] FB: done message, then set the SW1 switch to OFF and reboot the board removing the power. Android 11 will start.

Software support

Kynetics includes in this image different applications to help your evaluation. In particular these apps help with testing and managing common peripherals from Android userspace. The example application sources are available on Kynetics Github

The Android libraries used by these apps are not public and they can be purchased to be used in your own code, contact us for more details.

  • GPIO handler:
    • the GPIO handler application to test the GPIO functionality.
  • TTY Serial handler:
    • the Serial handler application. It is possible to read and write on the serial RS232 available as /dev/ttymxcX. As example, the ttymxc1 RS232 serial is used as console output on Android: connect the serial console adapter from Boundary Devices to see its output on a host pc. Using the Serial handler app it is possible to write on the /dev/ttymxc1 device. Is also possible to communicate between two Nitrogen8M Plus devices.
  • PWM handler
    • the PWM handler application to test the PWM functionality.
  • SPI handler
    • the SPI handler application to test the SPI functionality. On the Nitrogen8M Plus, the /dev/spidev0.0 device is available to test.
  • CAN bus handler
    • the CAN handler application to test the CAN bus functionality. On the Nitrogen8M Plus, two CAN interfaces are available: can0 and can1.

More applications are available on Kynetics Github.

Q&A

  • Is ADB available in this release?
  • Yes, ADB is available and enabled by default.
  • Is root available?
  • Yes, run the adb root command from the host pc to start ADB as root.
  • Can I use this release to develop apps?
  • Of course yes. You can deploy any APK on this evaluation OS.

Known limitations

  • USB-C port is configured only for ADB usage.

Enjoy the Art of Coding™