Renesas AIK-RA4E1 and AIK-RA6M3 reference kits are designed for accelerated AI/ML development

Renesas AIK-RA4E1 and AIK-RA6M3 are two new development boards based on RA-series 32-bit microcontrollers. These new dev boards have multiple reconfigurable connectivity functions to accelerate AI and ML design and development time.

Both boards appear similar, but the AIK-RA4E1 uses the R7FA4E110D2CFM MCU, features three Pmod ports, and has no Ethernet support. On the other hand, the AIK-RA6M3 utilizes the R7FA6M3AH3CFC MCU, has six Pmod ports, and includes Ethernet support. Both the boards support full-speed USB and CAN bus.

Renesas AIK-RA4E1 and AIK-RA6M3 reference kits specifications (Consolidated):

• RA4E1 Microcontroller Features:
  • Model: R7FA4E110D2CFM
  • Package: 64-pin LQFP
  • Core: 100 MHz Arm Cortex-M33
  • SRAM: 128 KB on-chip
  • Code Flash Memory: 512 MB on-chip
  • Data Flash Memory: 8 KB on-chip
• RA6M3 Microcontroller Features:
  • Model: R7FA6M3AH3CFC
  • Package: 176-pin LQFP
  • Core: 120 MHz Arm Cortex-M4 with FPU
  • SRAM: 640 KB on-chip
  • Code Flash Memory: 2 MB on-chip
  • Data Flash Memory: 64 KB on-chip
• Connectivity:
  • One USB micro AB full-speed connector for the Main MCU.
  • SEGGER J-Link On-board (OB) interface for debugging and programming.
  • 10-pin JTAG/SWD interface for external debuggers/programmers.
  • PMOD connectors for peripheral modules (three for RA4E1, six for RA6M3).
  • One CAN interface in both.
  • RA6M3 adds one Auxiliary Port connector and one RJ-45 RMII Ethernet interface.
• Multiple Clock Sources:
  • Precision 24.000 MHz and 32,768 Hz crystals.
  • Additional low-precision internal clocks.
• User Interface and Power:
  • MCU reset button.
  • Two user push button switches, monitored by Main MCU firmware.
  • One Dip switch.
  • External 5 V input through USB connections.
  • A Blue LED for power indication.
  • One LED RGB, controlled by Main MCU firmware.
  • MCU boot configuration jumper.

Both boards support the J-Link debugger and work with Renesas Reality AI Edge AI software development environment. They also support the Pmod module with a TDK ICM-42670-P six-axis IMU. However, the RA6M3 kit includes a TFT display, camera, and microphone which combined with Renesas’s Aizip Personal Access System (PAS) can be used to run facial and sound recognition examples.

Just a few days back, Renesas released the RA2A2 a Cortex-M23-based MCU with 24-bit ADC, and up to 512KB dual-bank flash. Before that, we saw Renesas introduce the Renesas RZ/V2H an MCU with 80 TOPS AI accelerator. We have also seen Renesas develop dev boards like the Kaki Pi and Remi Pi all of which we have covered in our previous posts, so feel free to check those out if interested.

The documentation for the kits includes a quick start manual, a list of components (BoM), circuit diagrams, and PCB design files for development and production purposes. all can be found on their respective product pages.

At the time of writing, I can see that all the major distributors have this board available on their website including Mouser where the RA4E1 kit and the RA6M3 kit are available for $231.25.

Via Hackster.io

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