Why need firmware customization

Mainly to save memory.

The memory of the chip is 6MiB general purpose memory + 2MiB AI dedicated memory, which is really very large compared to ordinary single-chip microcomputers. If AI function is not used, we can use the entire 8MiB memory.
But because many times we need to run a model, a model may reach 3MiB or even larger, and the firmware also needs to take up memory.
So in order to run a larger model, we need to compromise and cut some unnecessary functions.

In the previous chapter of firmware update, many firmware versions were introduced and compiled, including minimum, with_v4_support, with_ide_support, and with_lvgl,
These firmwares may be used in different situations. such as:

• Cut IDE code, if you don't need to connect MaixPy IDE, you can cut IDE part to save memory.

• Cut the OpenMV function, the firmware is compatible with some functions of OpenMV, if you use the model, these functions may not be needed, you can cut it out.

• Tailoring multithreading support, if you don't need multithreading support, you can trim this part to get more memory space.

Therefore, if you are using a certain function, and you find the prompt ImportError: no module named'XXX', it may be that you are using a firmware that does not include this function. For example, the minimum firmware does not include IDE and image.find_blobs Function, if this firmware is burned, it will be unable to connect for a long time if you connect to the IDE again. Using the function image.find_blobs will also prompt that the function definition cannot be found.