live-demo-setup-notes.md

Notes on setting things up for the live demo

The poster presentation included a live demo of EL of two small 2-5 W modules. A laptop connect to a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W using remote desktop for control and display.

Start with the standard 32-bit Raspberry OS (tested with Raspbian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)).

Enable SSH and add Wi-Fi credentials using the Raspeberry Pi Imager settings. You can also set a custom hostname and skip that step later (e.g., elpi to connect via elpi.local).

Update everything:

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade

Install xrdp (remote desktop)

sudo apt install xrdp

Setup the Pi Zero 2 W as an Ethernet Gadget

Based on https://www.circuitbasics.com/raspberry-pi-zero-ethernet-gadget/.

Edit config.txt to add dtoverlay=dwc2 to the end using

sudo nano /boot/config.txt

then save and exit (Ctrl-S, Ctrl-X).

Edit cmdline.txt to add modules-load=dwc2,g_ether after rootwait using

sudo nano /boot/cmdline.txt

then save and exit (Ctrl-S, Ctrl-X).

Set hostname to elpi to allow connections to elpi.local.

sudo raspi-config

then select "System Options" > "Hostname".

Windows RNDIS Driver

[Follow this section at your own risk! I can't vouch for the safety, license status, etc., of this driver!]

Install RNDIS Gadget driver on the Windows host computer following these instructions: https://wiki.moddevices.com/wiki/Troubleshooting_Windows_Connection. The Pi showed up for me as Device Manager under Ports (COM & LPT) > USB Serial Device (COM3) (disconnect and reconnect with sudo reboot while watching Device Manager to confirm).

Glamor

[Not required for Pi Zero 2 W, it appears] On Raspberry Pi 3 and earlier running Bullseye , re-enable Glamor to get preview windows to work. Enter sudo raspi-config, choose Advanced Options, Glamor and Yes. Quit and reboot.

Run the demo

Connect with remote desktop to elpi.local, open terminal, run:

libcamera-hello -t 0 --awbgains 1,1 --framerate 5 --gain 4

Optional: add -f to make the preview full screen. Exit with Alt-PgUp.