Is this Omni3576/Core3576 project alive?

2025-01-29 8:33

Hello Luckfox Team,
I have finally received my Omni3576 (8GB LPDDR4) with the Luckfox Core3576 Module (64GB eMMC). The build quality of the device is really great, and I am already eagerly waiting for a Luckfox Core3588 Module.

However, I am an Arch Linux user. And that means I am absolutely not used to having packages on a device that are older than one year.
I know that the Debian world works differently and that people there are already happy with that. But even Debian users don’t use Python 2 anymore.
Python 3 has been around since 2008, and Python 2 has been officially dead since 2019.
That means you have been handling dead software for six years now.

I’m sure I don’t need to explain to you how important a cutting-edge system is once it’s connected to the internet. But in your wiki for the SDK, it says:

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Install dependency environments.

sudo apt update

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git ssh make gcc libssl-dev \
liblz4-tool expect expect-dev g++ patchelf chrpath gawk texinfo chrpath \
diffstat binfmt-support qemu-user-static live-build bison flex fakeroot \
cmake gcc-multilib g++-multilib unzip device-tree-compiler ncurses-dev \
libgucharmap-2-90-dev bzip2 expat gpgv2 cpp-aarch64-linux-gnu libgmp-dev \
libmpc-dev bc python-is-python3 python2

And that doesn’t work. Because even the museum keepers behind Debian don’t have Python 2 in their repositories anymore.
Your SDK, which grotesquely only works with an already outdated Linux Kernel 6.1 (RK3576 is consolidated in 6.13 and therefore it is impossible to compile the old omni3576 device tree files), can now only be extracted on Arch Linux if you install Python 2 from the AUR.
Or, you have to find some ancient FTP server where you can still grab old packages.

And here's the best part. I took a notebook and installed a Debian-compatible OS just so I could use the SDK. I download the SDK, install Python2 from some dubious FTP server that I would never have found without AI support, and run the provided build.sh.

And what does it tell me?

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==========================================
          Start building rootfs(debian)
==========================================

Current SDK doesn't support Debian(bookworm) for arm64
Please try other Debian version.

Your own Debian refuses to work with the medieval kernel.
That means, not even your own scripts work because everything is so hopelessly outdated.

I once read that many hardware manufacturers of SBCs hope to gain a foothold in the industrial market as suppliers for large companies. If I where a pentester and ever find a company that operates devices with a 3-year-old kernel, which can't be updated anymore due to their outdated dts files, I know it's a jackpot for me.

So my question is:

Linux Kernel 6.1 is a cybersecurity disaster.
Python 2 doesn’t even exist in repositories that are famous for hoarding ancient software.
Debian 12 Bookworm is already two years old. And still to modern for your Kernel/DTS files.
Yet, you still have these completely outdated instructions in the wiki.

Is the Omni3576 board already dead despite being just a few months old?
Or is there still active development? Will there be software updates—ideally from this decade?

2025-02-08 8:10

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback and support, and Happy New Year! Below is our response to the issues you raised:

Regarding the Python 2 Issue
Currently, our SDK is derived from an earlier version provided by RK, so we are temporarily using a Python 2 environment to ensure compatibility and system stability. We have planned an upgrade for our localized repo, and after thorough testing, we will gradually transition to Python 3 to meet higher system security and modernization requirements.

Regarding the Compile Environment
To avoid dependency and architecture compatibility issues that may arise from compiling directly on the device, we recommend compiling the SDK on an X86 platform using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. This ensures that all required tools and dependencies are correctly configured, providing a more stable compilation experience.

Regarding the Kernel Version and Future Updates
Our current kernel is based on a fork provided by RK at a certain point in time, and RK does not update the kernel in real time. Each time we pull in updates, extensive testing is required to ensure system compatibility and stability, so updates are relatively infrequent. However, please rest assured that the Omni3576 board remains under active development and maintenance. In the future, we will gradually release firmware and SDK updates in accordance with security and functional requirements.

Thank you again for your valuable feedback. Your input is crucial to our ongoing product improvements. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Wishing you smooth and successful work!

2025-02-12 22:53

Hello,
Thank you for your response.
I'm very glad to hear that this project is still alive. Once this thing works properly (with updates), it will be unmatched.

However, I want to add the following: When I wrote, "I took a notebook and installed a Debian-compatible OS just so I could use the SDK." I was, of course, referring to an x86 notebook. However, I installed Ubuntu 24.x.

Just for testing, I performed a general downgrade to version 22.04 and repeated the entire build process exactly as described in the wiki.

And although the error message is slightly different, it STILL states the exact same issue: build.sh fails to build the root filesystem because Debian 12 does not want to work with this kernel (Kernel 6.1) – at least, that's how I interpret it.

So the bottom line remains: The method described in the wiki for using the SDK no longer works. Not even when installing the exact recommended host system for the build.

Best regards,

PS:
This is the output where build.sh fails:

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Not Found io-domains in kernel/arch/arm64/boot/dts/rockchip/luckfox-omni3576.dts
Running mk-kernel.sh - build_kernel succeeded.
==========================================
          Start building rootfs(debian)
==========================================

Your live-build doesn't support bookworm
Please replace it:
sudo apt-get remove live-build
git clone https://salsa.debian.org/live-team/live-build.git --depth 1 -b debian/1%20230131
cd live-build
rm -rf manpages/po/
sudo make install -j8

ERROR: Running /home/sfox/sdk/device/rockchip/common/scripts/mk-rootfs.sh - build_debian failed!
ERROR: exit code 1 from line 133:
    "$RK_SCRIPTS_DIR/check-debian.sh"
ERROR: call stack:
    mk-rootfs.sh: build_debian(133)
    mk-rootfs.sh: build_hook(291)
    mk-rootfs.sh: main(321)
ERROR: Running /home/sfox/sdk/device/rockchip/common/build-hooks/99-all.sh - build_all failed!
ERROR: exit code 1 from line 21:
    "$RK_SCRIPTS_DIR/mk-rootfs.sh"
ERROR: call stack:
    99-all.sh: build_all(21)
    99-all.sh: build_hook(128)
    build-helper: try_func(63)
    build-helper: try_hook(96)
    build-helper: source(174)
    99-all.sh: main(139)
ERROR: Running /home/sfox/sdk/device/rockchip/common/build-hooks/99-all.sh - try_func build_hook all failed!
ERROR: exit code 1 from line 67:
    build_hook
ERROR: call stack:
    build-helper: try_func(67)
    build-helper: try_hook(96)
    build-helper: source(174)
    99-all.sh: main(139)

2025-02-16 10:36

您好，
您需要的答案就在build.sh的输出中

Your live-build doesn't support bookworm
Please replace it:

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sudo apt-get remove live-build
git clone https://salsa.debian.org/live-team/live-build.git --depth 1 -b debian/1%20230131
cd live-build
rm -rf manpages/po/
sudo make install -j8