Semiconductor solutions provider Renesas Electronics Corporation has introduced the RA8T1 microcontroller (MCU) group based on the Arm Cortex-M85 processor. According to the company, RA8T1 devices address real-time control of motors, power supplies and other products commonly used in industrial and building automation, as well as smart homes.
This introduction marks the third installment in Renesas’ RA8 Series, leveraging the high-performance capabilities of the Arm Cortex-M85 processor and Arm’s Helium technology. The latter provides a 4X performance boost for digital signal processor (DSP) and machine learning (ML) implementations compared to the Cortex-M7 core. This enhanced performance in RA8T1 devices can be harnessed for AI functions, enabling predictive maintenance for motors and minimizing costly downtime, according to the company.
Specifically tailored for motor control, the RA8T1 devices boast advanced PWM timing features, 12-bit ADCs, 12-bit DACs, and high-speed comparators. The MCUs also offer multiple communication functions, including SCI, SPI, I2C/I3C, CAN/CAN-FD, Ethernet, and USB-FS. An essential safety feature includes port output shutdown capability in case of anomalies, ensuring secure motor control.
“Renesas is already the market leader in motor control with the widest MCU portfolio for smart home, building and factory automation systems,” says Daryl Khoo, vice president of the embedded processing 1st division at Renesas.
“The performance of these MCUs is critical in high-speed electric motor control that requires sophisticated algorithms and application software to run in a reliable, safe and secure manner. The RA8T1 MCUs bring unprecedented CPU horsepower to the portfolio along with Helium technology that allows our customers the additional flexibility to deliver smart (AI/ML) solutions without the need for additional hardware.”
Renesas has a track record of shipping over 230 million motor-control specific MCUs annually to a global customer base. The company’s extensive MCU portfolio caters to various applications, including smart home, building, and factory automation systems.
The RA8T1 Group MCUs, featuring a 480 MHz Arm Cortex-M85 with Helium and TrustZone, come with integrated 2MB/1MB Dual-bank Flash memory and 1MB SRAM. The advanced security features include Arm TrustZone technology, Renesas Security IP (RSIP-E51A), Secure Boot, and tamper resistance.
Supported by Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP), the RA8T1 Group MCUs facilitate faster application development by providing comprehensive infrastructure software. Renesas has combined these new MCUs with compatible devices from its portfolio to offer Winning Combinations, ensuring optimized, low-risk designs for quicker time to market.
The RA8T1 Group MCUs are available now, accompanied by the FSP software.
Elsewhere, the company recently unveiled a specialized 32-bit RISC-V CPU core designed for embedded systems and IoT applications.
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CPU | MCUs | processor | Renesas | smart homes
