Optimised for HMI development in the IoT, the RX72N Envision Kit has been designed to offer a highly sophisticated and integrated platform for developing applications that require a graphical user interface (GUI). With a fully integrated WQVGA LCD with capacitive touch-sensing, developers can quickly develop HMIs for IoT applications.
The kit is based on the RX72N 32-bit microcontroller (MCU), the flagship member of Renesas' RX MCU family. It features Renesas’ third-generation RX CPU core, the RXv3, which has been designed to deliver improved performance and faster interrupt response. Hardware accelerators for trigonometric calculations increase the speed of motor control applications, while the integrated TFT LCD controller and 2D drawing engine make full use of the kit's display.
Trusted Secure IP, an integrated security hardware IP, provides a cryptography engine to realise AES, RSA, ECC as well as secure key management to protect customers’ important keys and IDs. Furthermore, the RX72N enables both wired and wireless network connections necessary for IoT applications via integrated Ethernet controllers and various serial interfaces for wireless module connection.
Renesas is looking to lower the barriers to HMI development with the Envision Kit, and has embedded emWin middleware from Segger to support its GUI software package, along with two demonstration applications based on FreeRTOS from AWS.
"The RX72N Envision Kit is a huge step forward for embedded engineers developing IoT applications that are GUI-driven," commented Andrew Hallworth, Portfolio Manager at RS. "Not only does it provide the hardware platform needed for application development, but it also raises the level of abstraction for software development, making it simpler to develop GUIs and HMIs for deployment across the IoT."
The RX72N Envision Kit also integrates other features, including high-efficiency DC/DC converters, a D2Audio IC, stereo MEMS microphone to support voice recognition, and an LCD backlight driver with complementary light sensor. Comprehensive connectivity is included in the form of Ethernet, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
To better support faster development cycles, the board also integrates an E2 Lite emulator. Support for running two applications is provided by the RX72N MCU, thanks to its 4MB dual bank flash memory. It also features 1MB of SRAM. A microSD card interface and PMOD connectors are also included for further expansion.