Getting Started with cube:evk

The cube:evk is a complete V2X Evaluation Kit designed to accelerate development, testing, and prototyping of connected mobility applications.

It combines hardware and software into a ready-to-use platform for both On-Board Unit (OBU) and Roadside Unit (RSU) scenarios, enabling fast experimentation with DSRC (ITS-G5) and C-V2X (LTE-V2X) communication.

1. Overview

The cube:evk is powered by an NXP i.MX 8M Plus processor and preloaded with cube:os, a Linux-based operating system optimized for V2X development.

Key Components

• Dual-mode V2X Module:
  Autotalks SECTON/PLUTON2 chipset supporting both DSRC/ITS-G5 and C-V2X/LTE-V2X. Equipped with a robust dual-channel RF frontend for diversity reception.

• Interfaces:

  • GNSS (u-blox M8U or M8L) with integrated IMU
  • CAN interface (SocketCAN compatible)
  • Ethernet and USB ports
  • HDMI display output
  • LTE module (Quectel EC21-EU)
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity

• Operating System:
  cube:os, based on Variscite’s DART-MX8M-PLUS BSP, comes preconfigured with all V2X software components.

2. First Power-On and Login

When powered, the cube:evk boots automatically into cube:os. Two users are available by default:

You can log in via the debug USB port, which provides a serial console connection. Use a terminal tool such as picocom (or minicom, screen, or putty) on your host computer.

Example (on Linux host)

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host:~$ picocom -b 115200 -p n -d 8 /dev/ttyUSBX

Replace /dev/ttyUSBX with the correct device path on your system (e.g., /dev/ttyUSB0). After logging in as cube, you’ll see the command prompt (cube:~$). You can now configure networking and access the device remotely.

3. Network Configuration

You can connect the cube:evk to your local network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

Ethernet

Simply connect a standard Ethernet cable.
If a DHCP server is available, an IP address will be assigned automatically.

To display the assigned IP address:

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cube:~$ ip a

Wi-Fi

To connect to a wireless network, use the nmcli tool:

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cube:~$ nmcli dev wifi connect '<ssid>' password '<password>'

If your network is not listed:

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cube:~$ nmcli device wifi rescan

You can then verify the connection:

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cube:~$ ip a

Remote Access via SSH

Once the cube:evk has network access, you can connect remotely from your development PC using SSH (Secure Shell):

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host:~$ ssh cube@<ip-address>

SSH provides a secure, encrypted terminal connection over the network — much faster and more convenient than the serial console.
To simplify file transfer and local editing, you can mount the EVK’s filesystem using SSHFS:

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host:~$ sshfs cube@<ip-address>:/home/cube/ /mnt/evk

This lets you work on files directly from your PC as if they were local.

4. LED Indicators

The cube:evk is equipped with four status LEDs that provide quick visual feedback on system power, GNSS synchronization, and user-defined states.

Controlling User LEDs

LEDs 3 and 4 are connected to GPIO pins 14 and 15 of gpiochip1.
You can toggle them manually using the gpioset command from the gpiod utilities.

Example: Control LED 3

Turn on LED 3:

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cube:~$ sudo gpioset gpiochip1 14=1

Turn off LED 3:

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cube:~$ sudo gpioset gpiochip1 14=0

Example: Control LED 4

Turn on LED 4:

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cube:~$ sudo gpioset gpiochip1 15=1

Turn off LED 4:

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cube:~$ sudo gpioset gpiochip1 15=0

These LEDs can be integrated into scripts or applications for visual feedback — for example, to signal software status, test results, or V2X message activity.

5. LTE Connectivity (Quectel EC21-EU)

The cube:evk includes an LTE modem for remote connectivity and data transfer. By default, the EC21 module is disabled and must be activated manually.

1. Insert a suitable microSIM card into the slot.
2. Connect to the LTE module’s serial interface:

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cube:~$ picocom -b 115200 -p n -d 8 /dev/ttyUSB3

3. Configure the APN (example for Telekom):

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ec21:~$ at+cgdcont=1,"IP","internet.telekom"

4. Enable Ethernet-over-USB mode and restart:

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ec21:~$ at+qcfg="usbnet",1
ec21:~$ at+cfun=1,1

After a few seconds, a new network interface will appear. You can verify it using:

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cube:~$ ip a

It can now be used for internet access. To deactivate the EC21 adapter again:

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ec21:~$ at+qcfg="usbnet",0

6. CAN Interface

The cube:evk includes a CAN interface based on Linux’s SocketCAN framework. It is available as can0 and configured automatically during boot.

To manually set the bitrate:

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cube:~$ sudo ip link set can0 type can bitrate 500000

You can send and receive CAN frames using the can-utils package:

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cube:~$ cansend can0 123#DEADBEEF
cube:~$ candump can0

Developers can also use the SocketCAN API directly to build custom CAN-enabled applications.

7. Next Steps

Now that your cube:evk is online and accessible, you can:

• Explore Radio Settings
• Use our tools for V2X message transmission and reception
• Write your own tools with the Radio and GNSS API