Category: Renesas MCU

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Giveaway Week 2024 winners announced!

Giveaway Week 2024 winners announced!

Giveaway Week 2024 Prizes

We’re now ready to announce the winners of CNX Software’s Giveaway Week 2024. We offered some of the review samples we tested (and some we did not test) in the last year, and for the fourth year running, RAKwireless also gave away two IoT development kits shipped directly to winners. This year’s prizes also included a RISC-V motherboard, a 3D depth camera, a few Arm development boards, two touchscreen displays, and an Alder Lake-N mini PC/router. All those products can be seen in the photo, minus some accessories. You’ll find more than seven devices because we organized the third Giveaway Week on CNX Software Thailand simultaneously with four prizes. We had seven winners on CNX Software: Jupiter RISC-V mini-ITX motherboard – François-Denis, Canada Orbbec Femto mega 3D depth and 4K RGB camera  – Reifu, Japan RAKwireless Blues.ONE LoRaWAN, LTE-M, and NB-IoT devkit – OldCrow, Portugal Mixtile Core 3588E development kit […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments on Renesas RA8E1 and RA8E2 entry-level Arm Cortex-M85 MCUs target cost-sensitive applications

Renesas RA8E1 and RA8E2 entry-level Arm Cortex-M85 MCUs target cost-sensitive applications

Fast Prototyping Board for Renesas RA8E1

Renesas has expanded its Arm Cortex-M85-based RA8 series to include two new entry-level MCUs, RA8E1 and RA8E2. The new microcontrollers perform similarly to other Arm Cortex-M85-based microcontrollers and are offered at a lower price point thanks to a streamlined feature set to reduce costs. The RA8E1 and RA8E2 groups of microcontrollers will be useful for high-volume applications in industrial and home automation, healthcare, office equipment, and consumer products. We have previously covered other models in Renesas’ RA8 series, including the Renesas RA8T1, RA8D1, and the very first Cortex-M85 microcontroller, the Renesas RA8M1. The RA8 series consists of microcontrollers based on the Arm Cortex-M85 core with a performance of 6.39 CoreMark/MHz and Arm’s M-Profile Vector Extension which provides a 4x performance boost for DSP and ML workloads while maintaining low power consumption. The RA8E1 and RA8E2 Cortex-M85 microcontroller groups differ mostly in clock speed, available internal and external memory, communication interfaces, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 119 Comments on Giveaway Week 2024 – RT-Thread Vision board with Renesas RA8D1 Arm Cortex-M85 MCU

Giveaway Week 2024 – RT-Thread Vision board with Renesas RA8D1 Arm Cortex-M85 MCU

RT-Thread Vision board

It’s already Friday, and the fifty prize of CNX Software’s Giveaway Week 2024 will be the RT-Thread Vision board equipped with a Renesas RA8D1 Arm Cortex-M85 microcontroller, a camera, an optional LCD display, and a 40-pin GPIO header. The board is used as an evaluation platform for the Renesas RA8D1 MCU and RT-Thread real-time operating system. As its name implies, it’s mainly designed for computer vision applications leveraging the Helium MVE (M-Profile Vector Extension) for digital signal processing (DSP) and machine learning (ML) applications. I haven’t reviewed it myself and instead, received two samples from RT-Thread who sent them to me by mistake, so I’ll give them away here and on the Thai website. But it was reviewed by Supachai who tested the RT-Thread Vision board with OpenMV and ran a few benchmarks last June. The Helium MVE did not seem to be utilized in OpenMV at that time (June […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments on Renesas RX260 and RX261 64 MHz RXv3 MCUs target power-efficient touch applications

Renesas RX260 and RX261 64 MHz RXv3 MCUs target power-efficient touch applications

Renesas RX260 RX261 RXv3 microcontrollers

The Renesas RX260 and RX261 two new 64 MHz microcontrollers part of the high-performance, high-efficiency RX product family with integrated capacitive touch-sensing and high power efficiency in both active and standby modes. The microcontrollers are based on the RXv3 core with a performance score of 355 CoreMark @ 64MHz, which is “2.5 times higher than competing 64 MHz class MCUs.” The chips are also power-efficient, with a consumption rate of 69μA/MHz during active operation and 1μA only in standby mode. According to Renesas, the chips are up to 25% more efficient in active mode and 87% more efficient in standby mode than other 64 MHz class MCUs. Another competing factor is the onboard 8KB of data flash, eliminating the need for external EEPROM. The RX260 and RX261 Group MCUs support noise- and water-resistant capacitive touch via Renesas’ third-generation capacitive touch IP (CTSU2SL). They also integrate an “automatic judgment function” that […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on Renesas CCE4511 IO-Link master IC and ZSSC3286 IO-Link sensor signal conditioner IC are designed for industrial sensors and actuators

Renesas CCE4511 IO-Link master IC and ZSSC3286 IO-Link sensor signal conditioner IC are designed for industrial sensors and actuators

Renesas CCE4511 and ZSSC3286 IO Link ICs

Renesas has recently introduced the CCE4511 four-channel IO-Link master IC and the ZSSC3286 IO-Link-ready dual-channel sensor signal conditioner IC along with their development boards designed for harsh industrial environments. The CCE4511 master IC supports four channels with 500mA driving current, overvoltage detection, and overcurrent protection, Additionally, it has an integrated IO-Link Frame Handler that reduces microcontroller load. The ZSSC3286on is the first sensor signal conditioner with an integrated IO-Link compliant stack, meaning you don’t need a separate microcontroller for signal handling. Additionally, it features 24-bit ADCs and advanced diagnostic functions for advanced tasks. Both products are optimized for industrial automation, offering energy efficiency, smaller PCB sizes, and robust system diagnostics. CCE4511 IO-Link master and ZSSC3286 sensor signal conditioner IC Specifications CCE4511 IO-Link master Main Chip – CCE4511 4-Channel IO-Link Master PHY with integrated Frame Handler Number of Channels – 4 IO-Link master channels Frame Handler – Hardware frame handler for […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Arduino Nicla Sense Env module features temperature, humidity, and gas sensors from Renesas

Arduino Nicla Sense Env module features temperature, humidity, and gas sensors from Renesas

Arduino Nicla Sense Env

Arduino Nicla Sense Env is a new sensor module with temperature, humidity, and gas (TVOC, NO2, O3) sensing that follows the launch of the Arduino Nicla Sense ME (Motion & Environment) module over three years ago (2021). The implementation of the new module is quite different since the ME module relies on Nordic Semi nRF52832 Cortex-M4 microcontroller and Bosch SensorTech motion and environmental sensor, but the new Nicla Sense Env module is made of parts from Renesas namely the RA2E1 Cortex-M23 microcontroller, the HS4001 humidity and temperature sensor, the ZMOD4410 gas sensor for TVOC and indoor air quality, and the ZMOD4510 gas sensor for NO2, O3, and outdoor air quality. Arduino Nicla Sense Env (ABX00089) specifications: MCU – Renesas RA2E1 Arm Cortex-M23 entry-line microcontroller (not accessible or programmable by the user) CPU core – Arm Cortex-M23 core up to 48 MHz Memory – 16KB SRAM Storage – 128KB flash Sensors […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Arduino releases a power management library for Arduino Pro modules to optimize power consumption

Arduino releases a power management library for Arduino Pro modules to optimize power consumption

Arduino Portenta C33 Power Management Library Battery Monitoring

Arduino has released a new power management library designed for Arduino Pro modules to help users monitor battery usage, fine-tune charging parameters, and optimize the power consumption of their Arduino code by notably enabling sleep and standby modes on supported devices. Currently, the Arduino Portenta H7 boards, the Arduino Portenta C33, and the Nicla Vision module are supported by the new power management library. The company explains some boards consume under 100 microamperes in deep sleep mode enabling months or even years of continuous runtime on a single charge, so making use of those features is important to lower the power consumption of battery-powered IoT devices and wearables. Arduino power management library key features: Battery monitoring – Reports battery metrics such as voltage, current, percentage, and temperature. Battery health tracking – Monitors battery health with detailed insights into temperature and reported capacity. Charging control – Monitors and adjusts charging parameters […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on WeAct RA4M1 – A small board with plenty of GPIOs that’s software-compatible with the Arduino UNO R4

WeAct RA4M1 – A small board with plenty of GPIOs that’s software-compatible with the Arduino UNO R4

WeAct RA4M1 board

Last week, we covered the Maker Go RA4M1-R4 development board, an inexpensive “clone” of the Arduino UNO R4 Minima with some small modifications like support for up to 50V DC input and a 3.3V/5V switch for I/Os. But today, I’ve come across a smaller and cheaper Renesas RA4M1 board that’s also software compatible with the Arduino UNO R4. Meet the WeAct RA4M1. The WeAct RA4M1 is mostly a breakout board for the Renesas R7FA4M1AB3CFM Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller with two 30-pin GPIO headers, a USB-C port for power and programming, and three buttons. It offers a middle ground between the Arduino UNO R4 Minima and the tiny XIAO RA4M1 USB-C board. WeAct RA4M1 specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 48 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256KB flash USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion 2x 30-pin headers with GPIO, VIN, VCC, GND 3.3V or 5V […]

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