With connection to cloud-based services a priority for embedded systems in commercial, residential, and industrial environments, Renesas has introduced an evaluation and prototyping kit that will speed time-to-market to create secure end-to-end IoT cloud solutions for sensor-based endpoint devices with connection to Amazon Web Services.
Designated the RX65N Cloud Kit, the kit features onboard Wi-Fi; environmental, light and inertial sensors; and support for Amazon FreeRTOS connected to AWS. It enables users to build prototypes and then reuse the hardware and sample software as reference building blocks to accelerate their development schedules and increase ROI. Using Renesas’ e2 studio IDE, IoT applications can easily be created by configuring Amazon FreeRTOS, all the necessary drivers, and the network stack with component libraries.
By employing Renesas’ browser-based software, users can visualize their sensor data using a smart device cloud dashboard to monitor a wide range of applications, including networked smart meters, building, office, and industrial automation systems, as well as home appliances.
The kit’s key element is Renesas’ RX65N R5F565NEDDFP 32-bit, 120 MHz MCU Target Board with 2 MB code flash memory and 640 KB SRAM. Having dual bank flash integrated on the RX65N MCUs enables both BGO (Back Ground Operation) and SWAP functions, making it easier for system and network control manufacturers to securely and reliably execute in-the-field firmware updates. The MCUs also include Trusted Secure IP (TSIP) as part of their built-in hardware security engine. The TSIP driver uses strong encryption key management with hardware accelerators—AES, 3DES, SHA, RSA, and TRNG—as well as a protected boot code flash area to securely boot customers’ IoT devices.
Other elements include a Pmod Module with Silex SX-ULPGN Wi-Fi communications, a Cloud Option Board with two USB ports for serial communications and debugging, and three sensors for sampling and sending measurement data to the cloud. The sensors include Renesas ISL29035 digital light sensor for ambient/infrared light measurement, the Bosch BMI160 MEMS sensor for three-axis acceleration and gyroscopic measurement, and the Bosch BME680 MEMS sensor for gas, temperature, humidity and pressure measurements.
Renesas e2 studio IDE enables designers to create the latest Amazon FreeRTOS project from GitHub directory and immediately build it. Designers can set up Amazon FreeRTOS network stack and component libraries, like Device Shadow, without detailed knowledge. In addition, the IDE allows the user to embed additional functions (based on Amazon FreeRTOS), such as USB and file-system on the IoT endpoint device.
The cloud kit is available from Renesas’ distributors for $50.
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