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Reference design offers early access to i.MX 93 applications processor

Thu, Apr 13, 2023

A reference development platform based on NXP Semiconductors; i.MX 93 applications processors offers developers access to prototype ideas for a variety of applications including smart home and smart city projects.

The EIC-i.MX93-210 reference development platform kit is based on NXP’s i.MX 93 applications processor which includes the scalable Arm Cortex-A55 core. This enables efficient machine learning acceleration and advanced security with an integrated EdgeLock secure enclave to support edge computing, said eInfochips, an Arrow company.

The NXP i.MX 93 processor provides new use cases and opens a new gateway to a faster, more secure, powerful, and advanced edge-based system for industrial automation, smart home and intelligent appliances, smart buildings and automotive applications, said eInfochips.

The development platform enables developers to kick-start the development of creating more capable high-performance, cost-effective, and energy-efficient machine learning applications, said eInfochips. The company can help engineers progress product development with hardware development, firmware, edge-AI enablement, end-to-end design and manufacturing expertise.

“NXP’s i.MX 93 applications processor combines both a level of performance and low power that will enable a wide range of innovative edge devices,” said Jeff Steinheider, vice president and general manager, Industrial Edge, NXP.

eInfochips is an Arrow Electronics company. It provides digital transformation and product engineering services and accelerates time to market for customers with expertise in IoT, AI / ML, security, sensors, wireless, cloud, and power.

https://www.einfochips.com

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Arduino Uno R4 uses 32bit microcontroller to boost performance

Wed, Mar 29, 2023

The latest addition to Arduino’s Uno family, the Uno R4 is available in two versions, the Uno R4 WiFi and UnoR4 Minima. The Uno R4 WiFi features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and the UNO R4 Minima provides a cost-effective option for those seeking the new microcontroller without additional features.

The Uno R4 is powered by the Renesas RA4M1 32-bit microcontroller based on the Arm Cortex-M4 core. This, said Arduino, provides “a significant boost” in processing power, memory and functionality, compared to the Uno R3, which will not be discontinued, confirmed Arduino.

The WiFi version comes with an Espressif S3 WiFi module.

The R4 maintains the same form factor, shield compatibility and 5V operating voltage as the R3. Arduino confirmed software compatibility, adding most existing libraries and examples work seamlessly on the R4. Some libraries that were previously optimised for the AVR architecture in R3 may require porting to the new Renesas architecture, advised Arduino.

Support for other Renesas microcontrollers, such as the RL78/G22 and G23, has also been added to the Arduino IDE (integrated development environment).

“We are honoured to collaborate with Arduino on their iconic Uno product line,” said Chris Allexandre, senior vice president, CSMO and head of global sales and marketing at Renesas. “Despite the challenges of this intricate project with a rich legacy, our 5V 32-bit Arm Cortex M4-based microcontrollers . . . . [offer] enhanced performance and resources to unlock endless potential for makers worldwide”.

“We believe that even iconic products must evolve to keep up with the ever-changing needs of our community and technological advancements. While maintaining the Uno R3 in our product line up, we collaborated closely with our partners Renesas and Espressif to create the most compatible and powerful maker board on the market,” says Fabio Violante, CEO at Arduino.

The Arduino Uno R4, featuring the Renesas RA4M1 (Arm Cortex-M4) running at 48MHz, boasts a three-fold performance increase over the Uno R3. SRAM has been upgraded from 2kbyte to 32kbyte and flash memory has increased from 32kbyte to 256kbyte to support increasingly complex projects. The company has also listened to community feedback, changing the USB port to a USB-C port and raising the maximum power supply voltage to 24V with an enhanced thermal design. The board includes a CAN bus and an SPI port, enabling users to reduce wiring and perform parallel tasks by connecting multiple shields. A 12-bit DAC is also on the new board.

To assist with any software transition, Arduino will provide a public list of such libraries, along with links to alternative options. To encourage library developers to port their low-level code to the Renesas architecture, an early adopter program has been launched.

The Arduino UNO R4 is set for release in late May.

Open-source hardware and software company, Arduino, provides an easy-to-use platform for interactive projects. With approximately 30 million active users, the Arduino community has expanded into IoT, wearables, 3D printing, and embedded environments.

https://www.arduino.cc

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Renesas adds two Arm Cortex-M33 core MCUs to 32-bit RA family

Fri, Mar 17, 2023

The RA4E2 and RA6E2 MCUs deliver up to 200MHz in compact packages and offer rich peripheral options for sensing, gaming, wearables and appliances, said Renesas.

They are both based on the Arm Cortex-M33 core with Arm TrustZone technology. The 100MHz RA4E2 Group and 200MHz RA6E2 Group of MCUs are optimised to provide power efficiency, said Renesas. They are available in 128kbyte and 256kbyte flash options and 40kbytes of SRAM. Connectivity options are on-chip CAN FD, USB, QSPI, SSI and I³C interfaces. The MCUs offer an upgrade path to other members of the RA family.

The RA4E2 and the RA6E2 offer a cost-effective option with integrated CAN FD and space saving packages as small as a 4.0 x 4.0mm 36-pin BGA or a 5.0 x 5.0mm 32-pin QFN.

All RA devices are supported by the Renesas flexible software package (FSP) that includes efficient drivers and middleware to ease the implementation of communications and improve functionality of peripherals. The FSP’s GUI simplifies and accelerates the development process, said Renesas. It enables flexible use of legacy code as well as compatibility and scalability with other RA family devices. Designers using FSP also have access to the full Arm ecosystem as well as Renesas’ extensive partner network, offering a wide range of tools that help speed time-to-market.

The RA4E2 Group includes five different options, spanning from 32-pin to 64-pin packages as small as 4.0 x 4.0mm, and 128kbyte of flash memory along with 40kbyte of SRAM. The devices use just 82 microA / MHz while executing from flash at 100MHz. They have an extended operating temperature range of -40 to +105 degrees C.

The devices in the RA4E2 Group are based on a 100MHz Arm Cortex-M33 CPU core and can reduce system costs by virtue of the internal oscillator, general purpose I/O, advanced analogue, low voltage detection and internal reset function

The RA6E2 Group MCUs deliver 200MHz performance. Based on a 200MHz Arm Cortex-M33 CPU core, they also have low power operation ( 80 microA / MHz in active mode at 200MHz). The group includes 10 different parts, spanning from 32-pin to 64-pin packages as small as 4.0 x 4.0mm, and from 128kB to 256kbyte of flash memory along with 40kbyte of SRAM. Integrated communications options including USB 2.0 full-speed device, SCI, SPI, I³C, HDMI CEC, SSI, QSPI, and CAN FD and an integrated timer.

Renesas has designed a full Add-on Voice User Interface (VUI) using the RA6E2 MCU and other compatible devices from the Renesas portfolio. It can be added to devices such as smart thermostats or appliances.

All RA4E2 and RA6E2 MCUs are available today with separate evaluation kits and fast prototyping boards available for both MCU groups.

http://www.renesas.com

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Vision processor family brings scalable edge AI to smart cameras

Thu, Mar 16, 2023

Vision capabilities and AI processing for up to 12 cameras is afforded by the AM6xA family of vision processors released by Texas Instruments. They are designed for use in building, industrial and retail automation applications.

The family consists of six Arm Cortex-based vision processors that allow designers to add more vision and artificial intelligence (AI) processing at a lower cost, said TI. It is also defined by better energy efficiency which can be applied across the scale of vision applications whether video doorbells, machine vision or autonomous mobile robots.

The four AM62A versions, the AM68A and the AM69A processors are supported by open-source evaluation and model development tools, and common software that is programmable through industry-standard APIs, frameworks and models.

The vision processors are affordable, said Sameer Wasson, vice president, processors at Texas Instruments. He continued, saying the “highly integrated SoCs will enable the future of embedded AI by allowing for more cameras and vision processing in edge applications.”

The AM62A3, AM62A3-Q1, AM62A7 and AM62A7-Q1, support one to two cameras at less than 2W. The low power devices target applications such as doorbell cameras and smart retail systems. The AM62A3 is claimed to be the industry’s lowest-cost 1-TOPS vision processor.

The other members of the family are the AM68A, which enables one to eight cameras in applications like machine vision, with up to 8 TOPS of AI processing for advanced video analytics.

The AM69A, which achieves 32 TOPS of AI processing for one to 12 cameras in high-performance applications such as edge AI boxes, autonomous mobile robots and traffic monitoring systems.

Processors feature an SoC architecture with integrated components including Arm Cortex-A53 or Cortex-A72 central processing units, a third-generation TI image signal processor, internal memory, interfaces, and hardware accelerators delivering AI processing for deep learning algorithms.

Beginning in Q2 2023, designers can accelerate time to market for their edge AI applications with a public beta of TI’s free open-source tool, Edge AI Studio. This web-based tool allows users to develop and test AI models quickly and easily using user-created models and TI’s optimised models, which can also be retrained with custom data.

AM68A processors are available now through TI and authorised distributors in production quantities. Pre-production samples of the AM62A and the AM69A are available through TI. Starter kits are available on TI.com for the AM62A, AM68A and AM69A.

http://www.TI.com

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Reference design offers early access to i.MX 93 applications processor

Arduino Uno R4 uses 32bit microcontroller to boost performance

Renesas adds two Arm Cortex-M33 core MCUs to 32-bit RA family

Vision processor family brings scalable edge AI to smart cameras

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