The future lies within industrial solution enhancements for Renesas

The new RZ/N1 Solution Kit is a complete development package that includes the hardware and software to enable faster prototyping of leading industrial Ethernet protocols such as EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, ETHERNET Powerlink, PROFINET, Sercos, and CANopen, thereby accelerating development and saving up to six months of industrial network protocol integration into  customers’ applications.

The new kit includes a CPU development board based on the RZ/N1S MPU. In addition, a comprehensive software package is included with all the drivers and middleware, sample protocol stacks, U-Boot and Linux-based BSP, a unique inter-processor communication software, and even a user-friendly PinMuxing tool that can generate C-code header files that removes the complexity of pin configuration. The various software and sample code provides customers with a complete set of tools and frameworks to build their own application without any additional up-front costs or complexity.

Whilst releasing this new product, Renesas also announced the new solution package for itsRZ/T1 Group of microprocessors (MPUs), which supports HIPERFACE DSL digital encoder interface for AC servo applications. The support of HIPERFACE DSL for RZ/T1 reduces the customer’s system bill-of-materials (BOM) cost and enables faster time-to-market.

The RZ/T1 Group includes the Arm Cortex-R4 processor with a dual precision floating-point unit (FPU) operating at up to 600MHz and provides: real-time processing, tightly-coupled memory, high-speed analogue to support dual servo motors, and network connectivity for distributed motion that matches the needs of precise AC servo drive applications.

The RZ/T1 already supports other leading encoder interfaces including EnDat 2.2, BiSS-C, Tamagawa and A-format. This time, the RZ/T1 newly supports the HIPERFACE DSL digital encoder interface. These digital, bidirectional interfaces provide precise position values from absolute encoders. Instead of using a separate FPGA or ASIC, integrating these encoder interfaces on the RZ/T1 reduces the component count and cuts system costs.

With this expanded functionality, the RZ/T1 now supports most of the leading encoder interfaces, and with its unique configurable encoder interface, it simplifies swapping different encoders interfaces from a single device platform. 

Finally at the show, the company took the time during the Renesas Press Conference to talk about the expansion of its RX65N/RX651 Group of microcontroller (MCU) lineup that addresses advanced security needs for connected devices operating in industrial automation, building automation, and smart metering systems.

The expanded lineup features MCUs with integrated Trusted Secure IP, and enhanced, trusted flash functionality and human-machine interface (HMI) for industrial and network control systems.

"Security, reliability and connectivity have joined high-performance and quality as top decision-making criteria for industrial control system developers,” said Tim Burgess, Senior Director of the High-End MCU Business,Renesas Electronics Corporation. “The expanded RX65N/RX651 MCU lineup provides industrial systems manufacturers the high reliability, power efficiency and enhanced connectivity required for operation in industrial systems, while adding the enhanced security and connectivity required for edge devices in increasingly connected environments.”

The expansion of devices operating at the edge of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has increased system manufacturers’ need for secure network connectivity and reliability, including secure on-the-go firmware updates.

The expanded RX65N/RX651 devices support these evolving security and re-programmability needs, offering integrated Trusted Secure IP, enhanced flash protection, and other technology advancements to create a secure and stable integrated solution far above others in the market, as proven by the Cryptographic Algorithm Validation (CAVP) certification. In turn, these security advancements enable seamless flash firmware updates in the field through secure network communications.