New IoT System Development Platform of Renesas Reduces Design Complexity and Time-to-Market

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The Japan-based provider of semiconductor solutions, Renesas Electronics Corporation, has introduced a new IoT development platform on July 7. The new platform significantly eases out the prototyping process of the IoT systems. Moreover, the new system provides building blocks of the core software that are easily portable in between boards and efficiently reduces the coding requirements. The company’s system of Quick-Connect IoT includes standardized boards as well as interfaces that will enable designers to connect with a range of sensors in a faster way. The sensors quickly get connected to the microcontroller unit development boards.

Renesas has operated with Digilent Inc. as part of the system of Quick-Connect IoT. Together they create a whole new I2C Peripheral module Interface or Pmod, Type 6A to have increased flexibility and wider coverage. The company Renesas standardized the Digilent’s Pmod Type 6A connector for microcontroller unit development kits and sensor Pmods. Such standardization enables designers greater flexibility to select the best combination for the IoT prototype design. The microcontroller unit or MCU boards have two Peripheral module connectors. Out of the two, one is for sensor Pmod, whereas the other is for the communications module. For providing better flexibility, the Pmods can be cascaded.

The Senior Director at Renesas DK Singh has said that they are highly emphasizing the delivery of solutions that will allow customers to access the market in a faster way with high-quality end products. For instance, they have developed many Winning Combinations which can give customers an enhanced design platform for reducing the development time and mitigating the design risks. One of the recent examples of their commitment is the Quick-Connect IoT, and they are planning for the expansion of its coverage. The expansion will support more devices and boards in the upcoming times.

He also said that the standardized connectivity of hardware in the platform enables customers to utilize compatible Pmods that the third parties or suppliers develop. The Digilent’s Director of Marketing, Talesa Bleything, said that the new peripheral module interface Type 6A works on the company’s vision to make the system prototyping way much easier as well as accessible. It complies with the I2C specifications and provides optional interrupt along with reset pin plus. This will deliver more flexibility for system development in diverse types.

Additionally, Renesas has refined HAL code and common APIs for a large range of sensors. All these things are embedded inside the Renesas e2 Studio IDE. With the help of this, designers do not have to write or test hundreds of driver code lines, and they will only require to select the sensors graphically and write only a few code lines. All the setup and integration efforts are properly cared for, and this reduces the time to working solutions.

The Renesas’ Senior Digital Marketing and Sales Vice President, Chris Allexandre, has said that their IoT customers need much more than better MCUs, software, and sensors. The Quick-Connect IoT surely is a big game-changer, and it will extend the company’s leadership more in the internet of things market.

Credit: For more information about Renesas new IoT platform, visit here.