Torizon is a new Linux-based software platform that simplifies the process of developing and maintaining embedded software. It allows you to configure the system for your use case quickly and easily, so you can focus on application development instead of Linux builds.
Torizon fully supports the following modules, which use eMMC as flash storage:
Browse for Torizon resources from the tabs below.
To leverage the flexibility of the Torizon platform, Toradex partners with software companies from different industry segments and technologies to offer you Partner Demo Containers. Those containers are ready-to-run demonstrations with out-of-the-box compatibility to both Toradex hardware and the Torizon platform.
| Partner | Demo Container | Brief Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
XNOR.ai | AI2GO Object Detector | Demonstration on how to use the XNOR.ai AI2GO self-service solution |
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Codesys | Codesys PLC Runtime | CODESYS programmable logic controller (PLC) demo runtime on a Torizon container and how to use it |
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Crank Software | Crank Storyboard | Crank Storyboard allows you to build an embedded systems optimized, rich GUI on a cross platform IDE |
Follow our Step-by-step Getting Started Guide for fully supported modules as an overview step to get you set up in no time.
After you have completed it, check the other tabs from the current article, where you can find a list of Torizon features as well as a list of related articles.
TorizonCore is installed via the Toradex Easy Installer that comes pre-installed in Toradex SoMs from the factory. Install the TorizonCore image with Docker runtime:
Install TorizonCore image with Docker runtime
Upon booting one can login on the serial console (debug UART) or from the network via SSH using the following user and password:
On the first login, you are prompted to change the default password. You can then execute commands as root with sudo <command> or gain root access from within the Linux shell with sudo su.
Check out ongoing projects on Toradex Labs:
Development Environment for Torizon using Visual Studio with the Torizon Microsoft Environment. Check out how it works!
Flash status and lifespan made easy, provided via a web UI in the Flash Analytics Tool. Check out our webinar on Flash Memory in Embedded Linux Systems for an overview of how it works.
Torizon is an embedded computing platform that makes it easy to develop robust and scalable products. An initial overview is provided in the Torizon page on the Toradex website. The main Torizon component is TorizonCore: a minimal embedded Linux image that has the base for OTA services and an optional container runtime.
TorizonCore binary images are provided by Toradex with different configuration options. Whenever possible you should use TorizonCore image with Docker runtime:
| Image | Description |
|---|---|
| TorizonCore image with Docker runtime | Full-featured image containing Docker and OTA. The preferred image, provides the full Torizon experience. |
| TorizonCore image | minimal image only containing OTA. Can serve as a base for customers building custom images using OpenEmbedded and planing to leverage TorizonCore update system. |
All images above have a Linux kernel built with and without PREEMPT_RT real-time patch applied. The versions with PREEMPT_RT are experimental. A chart illustrating the variations and the relation between them is provided below:
TorizonCore Images - click to see in full resolution
The latest builds can be obtained by enabling the Toradex Continous Integration (CI) Server feed in the Toradex Easy Installer Feeds dialog, and some images or variants from the table above may be availble only in the CI server.
Docker containers are the base in which Torizon relies for application development. You are able to run any image built for your respective module's architecture. Along with TorizonCore we provide a default container as a sort of friendly starting environment.
TorizonCore is built with Over-The-Air Updates capabilities and Torizon also provides server-side capabilities. The overview is provided in a separate article:
The traditional device tree development and deployment process is laborious. Torizon uses device tree overlays hoping to somewhat streamline this process. With overlays, you just create a small snippet containing the hardware changes you need.
Toradex provides a public release roadmap for the TorizonCore platform:
An overview of relevant articles is presented in this tab
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Configure Build Environment for Torizon Containers | Prepare your host machine to cross-build ARM containers |
| .NET Core Development and Debugging on Torizon Using Visual Studio Code | Setup a .NET Core development environment for Visual Studio Code |
| Python Development and Debugging on Torizon Using Visual Studio Code | Setup a Python development environment for Visual Studio Code |
| Setting up Recommended Displays with Torizon | How to setup displays with Torizon |
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Debian Container for Torizon | Toradex provides a default container as a friendly starting environment |
| Device Tree Overlays | How to modify the device tree without having to re-compile it |
| Install Debian Packages on Target | How to start a container, install packages and modify the container for custom application startup |
| Qt Debian Container for Torizon | Example how to bring up a Qt container for Torizon |
| Speed up Build of Debian Based Images for Torizon | Use your computer as a proxy for Debian feeds when doing a Docker build, saving a lot of time |
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| GPIO (Linux) | Generic article partially related to Torizon |
| GPIO Char Device API - libgpiod | How to access GPIO using libgpiod, the new Linux kernel API for GPIO |
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| How to: Using Gstreamer in a Docker Container with Torizon | How to enable Gstreamer support in a Toradex base container and run a sample pipeline |
| How to: Using OpenCL 1.2 in iMX8 in a Docker container and Torizon | How to install and integrate OpenCL libraries to your application |
Partner Demo Containers are ready-to-use demonstrations fully integrated in containers.
| Partner | Demo Container | Brief Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
XNOR.ai | AI2GO Object Detector | Demonstration on how to use the XNOR.ai AI2GO self-service solution |
|
Codesys | Codesys PLC Runtime | CODESYS programmable logic controller (PLC) demo runtime on a Torizon container and how to use it |
|
Crank Software | Crank Storyboard | Crank Storyboard allows you to build an embedded systems optimized, rich GUI on a cross platform IDE |
Those demos may not be fully packaged in containers, or require extra steps to work.
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Apalis iMX8 Embedded Vision Kit with Allied Vision | A powerful and flexible platform that contains everything to quickly deploy and test Embedded Computer Vision algorithms |
| Partner Demo Image - Amazon Web Services (AWS) AI at the Edge Pasta Detection Demo | End-to-end demonstration of pasta detection using deep learning and connected to the AWS cloud |
| Build the AWS AI at the Edge Demo Image | How to build the Partner Demo Image Amazon Web Services (AWS) AI at the Edge Pasta Detection Demo from scratch |
Warning: the Torizon Update System is a project currently under development at Toradex Labs. It is still an experimental project in it's early stages which is subject to changes without notice. This might impact new releases and/or iterations.
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Over-The-Air Updates | An overview of over-the-air update technologies for Toradex modules |
| Torizon Update System | An overview about the Torizon Update System, the OTA solution integrated to Torizon |
| OSTree | An overview of a core technology used in the Torizon OTA |
| Create OSTree Union | How to modify files inside OSTree |
| OSTree Easy Installer Builder | Add files to a Torizon base root file system and generate a Toradex Easy Installer image from it |
| Update Your Device Using HERE OTA Connect | Use this OTA software management solution for device updates |
| OSTree Push to Garage | Add files to a Torizon base root file system and upload a package to HERE OTA Connect |
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Getting Started with AWS IoT Greengrass for Torizon | How to connect to AWS IoT Greengrass using Torizon containers |
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| A71CH Secure Element Demo | Demonstration on how to use the NXP A71CH Secure Element on Colibri iMX6ULL and Torizon |
| Article | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Build TorizonCore | How to build the Yocto-based Torizon base-image |
| TorizonCore Build Environment | Build environment for building TorizonCore inside a container |
You can find other articles using our search by tags and selecting the torizon tag:
The full-featured image is rather large taking up most of the space on the raw NAND-based modules. As such it is not recommended to experiment with containers on these devices since there isn't much space for containers as is. In the future, we hope to slim down the footprint. Alternatively, the Balena based image is slimmer by about ~70MB, although fully unsupported by Toradex.
In our i.MX6-based Debian containers we are using the Armada X.org DDX driver which seems to have worked fine in our tests but, it might show stability issues.
The error is probably related to missing session management inside the container.
Make sure to clear the U-Boot environment by using env default -a && env save. If resetting the U-Boot environment does not help, use setenv tdxargs loglevel=7 to enable kernel debug messages. Also setenv tdxargs "loglevel=7 earlycon" can help to initialize a console during very early boot and thus see debug output in case the kernel crashes very early during boot.
