Hey everyone, I’m working on a computer vision project that needs hardware-triggered synchronized capture across 4 camera modules simultaneously. I’m looking at the Arducam B0492N kit (the AR0234 synchronized stereo camera bundle) and trying to figure out if it can actually support 4-camera sync with the Camarray HAT.
My setup so far:
NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX Developer Kit
4x Arducam AR0234 Camera Modules
1x Arducam UC-512 Camarray HAT
I’ve been digging through the Arducam wiki but I can’t find anything about which driver package or JetPack version to use for Jetson Orin NX with this setup. The product page mentions Xavier NX and Orin but the wiki seems sparse on Orin NX specifics.
Has anyone gotten 4-camera external trigger sync working with this bundle? I need all four frames to be captured at the exact same moment — any timing offset would be a problem for my application.
Welcome to the forum. I can help clarify what the B0492 kit is designed for.
The B0492 is fundamentally a dual-channel (2-camera) synchronized stereo bundle. It’s not built to handle four independent AR0234 modules — the Camarray HAT in that kit is designed around a two-sensor pipeline. Here’s how the external trigger actually works on this kit: when you send one trigger signal, both cameras fire simultaneously and their frames get stitched together into a single combined output image. So you get one “joined frame” containing both sensors’ data per trigger pulse. The trigger synchronization between the two cameras is solid, but it’s limited to that stereo pair.
For a true 4-camera synchronized system with independent frame outputs, you’re going beyond what the standard B0492 kit can do. That would need a custom solution.
Before we go further — you mentioned a Jetson Orin NX Dev Kit. Some of these come with third-party carrier boards instead of the official NVIDIA one. Could you post photos of both the front and back of your carrier board? That’ll help me verify what we’re working with on the hardware side.
I’m now evaluating whether I can pivot to using this Leopard board instead of the Camarray HAT to get my 4-camera sync working. I have a few questions I’m hoping you can help with:
About the B0492N kit itself — was there a specific hardware limitation that kept it at 2 channels? And would Arducam be open to sharing the hardware design and SDK from the B0492N kit? I’m willing to develop a custom driver for synchronized 4-camera capture and share the results. I’d be working with two camera SKUs: the B0547 (XISP Swift pre-tuned ISP global shutter 2.3MP MIPI camera) and the B0429 (standard AR0234 global shutter camera).
Compatibility with the Leopard carrier board — can the B0547 (XISP Swift) connect to the LI-ONX-CB-4CAM-FP? The B0547 uses a 22-pin connector but the Leopard board has 30-pin connectors. Is there a pin mapping available? And assuming it’s compatible, can four B0547 modules do simultaneous capture over V4L2 with external triggers sent to the XVS pin on each camera? Same questions apply for the B0429.
Lens differences between B0429 and B0547 — can you share specs on FOV, aperture (f-number), distortion characteristics, and whether the lenses are interchangeable between these two SKUs?
I know this is a lot — I’m basically trying to figure out if the Leopard board route is viable or if I need to go fully custom.
Good, now I have a clearer picture of what you’re working with. Let me address these one at a time.
B0492N and 4-camera sync:
The two-channel limitation comes down to the ISP pipeline on the Camarray HAT — it has hardware muxing and processing designed around a stereo pair. The firmware and the driver stack are also built with that dual-sensor stitching model in mind. Extending it to four independent channels isn’t something you can do in software alone; the hardware path just doesn’t exist. As for sharing the B0492N hardware design and SDK, that’s something I’ll need to discuss internally. I’ve sent you a private message about the next steps on that front — please check your inbox.
Leopard Imaging LI-ONX-CB-4CAM-FP compatibility:
Regarding the 22-pin (Arducam) to 30-pin (Leopard) connector situation — these are not directly pin-compatible. The Leopard board uses a 30-pin interface that follows a different pinout than Arducam’s 22-pin standard. You’d need an adapter or an interposer board to bridge the two, and even then, signal integrity and lane mapping would need careful verification. The B0547 and B0429 both use Arducam’s 22-pin MIPI pinout, so the same challenge applies to both.
On the V4L2 + external trigger question: the standard Arducam V4L2 driver does support external trigger via the XVS pin on individual camera modules. In theory, if you can physically connect and enumerate four cameras on the Leopard board (one per CSI lane), you could issue a trigger signal and have them all capture. But — and this is the big “but” — we haven’t validated this configuration with the Leopard carrier, so there may be driver-level conflicts, I2C address collisions, or timing skew between the four CSI interfaces. This is uncharted territory.
Lens specs (B0429 vs B0547):
B0429 (standard AR0234): typically ships with a wider FOV lens, around 100-110° diagonal depending on the exact lens fitted. Aperture is around f/2.0. Some distortion at edges (barrel distortion, common for wide-angle MIPI camera modules). The lens is M12-mount, so yes — interchangeable.
B0547 (XISP Swift): comes with a pre-tuned ISP and a narrower, higher-quality lens optimized for the onboard ISP tuning. FOV is tighter, approximately 70-80° diagonal. Aperture around f/2.2. Lower distortion since the lens is matched to the ISP calibration. Also M12-mount and interchangeable, but swapping the lens will break the pre-tuned ISP calibration — you’d need to re-tune.
Bottom line: what you’re attempting — 4-camera hardware-synchronized capture with AR0234 sensors on a Leopard carrier — isn’t something we have a reference implementation for. The B0492 kit won’t get you there on its own. The path forward likely involves custom hardware adaptation (connector bridging) and potentially custom driver work. I’m happy to keep digging on our side, especially around whether we can provide design collateral for the B0492N to accelerate your development.