How to configure the Google Coral Edge TPU on the Raspberry Pi 5

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This tutorial will guide you through the configuration process for the Google Coral Edge TPU on a Raspberry Pi 5, including hardware settings and software installation.

Prerequisites

• A Raspberry Pi with Raspberry Pi OS installed.
• An internet connection.
• Basic knowledge of terminal commands.

Step 1: Configure Hardware Settings

First, you need to edit the Raspberry Pi configuration file to enable the necessary hardware settings for the Coral Edge TPU. Open the config file:

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

Add the following lines to the file:

[all]
# Enable the PCIe External connector.
dtparam=pciex1
kernel=kernel8.img
# Enable Pineboards Hat Ai
dtoverlay=pineboards-hat-ai

Save and close the file by pressing CTRL+X, then Y to confirm, and Enter to exit. Reboot your Raspberry Pi to apply these changes:

sudo reboot

Step 2: Update the Kernel

Kernel version 6.6.30 or higher is needed for the Pineboards Hat Ai overlay. To check your kernel version use this command:

uname -a

Expected output:

Linux coralpi 6.6.30-v8+ #1761 SMP PREEMPT Thu May  2 16:54:52 BST 2024 aarch64 GNU/Linux

Step 3: Install the PCIe Driver and Edge TPU Runtime

Update your package list:

sudo apt update

Add the Google Coral Edge TPU package repository:

echo "deb https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt coral-edgetpu-stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/coral-edgetpu.list

Import the repository GPG key:

curl https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt/doc/apt-key.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

Update your package list again:

sudo apt-get update

Install necessary packages:

sudo apt-get install cmake libedgetpu1-std devscripts debhelper dkms dh-dkms

Step 4: Install the Gasket Driver

Clone the Gasket driver repository:

git clone https://github.com/google/gasket-driver.git

Change into the directory and build the driver:

cd gasket-driversudo debuild -us -uc -tc -b

Go back to the parent directory and install the built package:

cd ..
sudo dpkg -i gasket-dkms_1.0-18_all.deb

Step 5: Set Up the udev Rule Add a udev rule to manage device permissions:

sudo sh -c "echo 'SUBSYSTEM==\"apex\", MODE=\"0660\", GROUP=\"apex\"' >> /etc/udev/rules.d/65-apex.rules"

Create a new group and add your user to it:

sudo groupadd apex
sudo adduser $USER apex

Reboot your Raspberry Pi to apply all changes:

sudo reboot

Verify if the driver is loaded using the following command:

sudo lspci -v

Expected output:

0000:01:00.0 System peripheral: Global Unichip Corp. Coral Edge TPU (prog-if ff)
Subsystem: Global Unichip Corp. Coral Edge TPU
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 39
Memory at 1800100000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=16K]
Memory at 1800000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=1M]
Capabilities: [80] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
Capabilities: [d0] MSI-X: Enable+ Count=128 Masked-
Capabilities: [e0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/32 Maskable- 64bit+
Capabilities: [f8] Power Management version 3
Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=1556 Rev=1 Len=008 <?>
Capabilities: [108] Latency Tolerance Reporting
Capabilities: [110] L1 PM Substates
Capabilities: [200] Advanced Error Reporting
Kernel driver in use: apex
Kernel modules: apex

Conclusion

Your Raspberry Pi is now configured to use the Coral Edge TPU. You can begin deploying machine learning models and running inference tasks with improved processing power.