Eval Kit for the Development of Energy-Harvesting-Powered IoT Devices
Renesas Electronics Corporation has introduced its RE Family, which encompasses the company's current and future lineup of energy harvesting embedded controllers. The RE Family is based on Renesas' proprietary SOTB™ (Silicon on Thin Buried Oxide) process technology, which dramatically reduces power consumption in both the active and standby states, eliminating the need for battery replacement or recharging in Internet-of-Things devices.
Following the mass production of the RE01 Group (formerly known as the R7F0E embedded controllers), the first of the RE Family, the new RE01 Group Evaluation Kit was launched today, which allows users working with the RE01 Group of devices to jump start system evaluations for energy harvesting applications.
"Energy harvesting eliminates the labor and costs associated with battery maintenance and is a key solution contributing to environmental conservation," said Hiroto Nitta, Senior Vice President, Head of SoC Business, IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit at Renesas. "I am extremely pleased that Renesas' technology innovation with SOTB has enabled these alternative energy solutions, and with the new RE01 Evaluation Kit, Renesas will be making it possible for engineers around the world to quickly start the evaluation. We hope this will accelerate the spread of IoT equipment powered by energy harvesting."
RE01 Evaluation Kit
The new RE01 Evaluation Kit includes an evaluation board which features an RE01 embedded controller, an interface for the energy harvesting device and a rechargeable battery interface. The Kit also includes an Arduino-compatible interface for easy expansion and evaluation of sensor boards and a Pmod™ connector to expand and evaluate wireless functionality.
In addition, there is an ultra-low power MIP LCD expansion board so that users can evaluate display functions faster. The Kit also contains sample code and application notes that serve as references for power management design that eliminates the need for battery maintenance, and driver software that supports CMSIS, Arm®'s Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard.
Sample code for ultra-low power A/D converters, digital filter and FFT (fast Fourier transform) routines, 2D graphics MIP LCD displays, and secure boot and secure firmware update functions for improved security are available.
With these features, this kit makes it possible to adopt energy harvesting based on RE01 Group devices at the system level and will accelerate the development of equipment that does not require battery maintenance.
IAR Embedded Workbench® for Arm which can use the high efficiency IAR C/C++ compiler, and e2 studio which can use the free GNU compiler are available as the developmental environment.
Renesas will continue expanding the RE Family beyond 2020 with new members including small memory sizes featuring up to 256 KB of flash memory.
Renesas believes that energy harvesting systems are an essential step toward the goal of a smart and environmentally conscious society. With SOTB technology as the core, Renesas will continue to develop innovative technologies and solutions that enable the growth of these systems.
Pricing and Availability
The RE01 Evaluation Kit is available now with a reference price of US$344 (excluding tax).
