mcu

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Renesas RA4C1 Arm Cortex-M33 MCU targets Smart Meters and energy-efficient IoT applications

Renesas RA4C1 Arm Cortex-M33 MCU targets Smart Meters and energy-efficient IoT applications

Renesas RA4C1

Renasas RA4C1 microcontroller (MCU) group is based on an 80-MHz Arm Cortex M33 core and designed for utility meters and battery-powered IoT applications. It’s especially suited to devices that require advanced security and segment LCD support, such as smart locks, thermostats, building controls, and industrial user interfaces. The RA4C1 is very similar to the Renesas RA4L1 MCU designed for HMI applications, but it comes with more RAM (96KB vs 64KB), and being optimized for Smart Meters lacks features like capacitive touch and audio output. The new MCU group still comes with up to 512KB code flash, 8KB data flash, plenty of I/Os, and a low-power consumption down to 168 µA/MHz in active mode, and a standby current of less than 1.79 µA with all SRAM retained. Renesas RA4C1 specifications: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 Armv8-M core up to 80 MHz Memory – 96 KB SRAM Storage 256 KB or 512 KB […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on Pico2-Ice development board combines Raspberry Pi RP2350B with Lattice iCE40UP5K FPGA

Pico2-Ice development board combines Raspberry Pi RP2350B with Lattice iCE40UP5K FPGA

pico2 ice Raspberry Pi RP2350B + iCE40UP5K FPGA development baord

tinyVision.ai has recently released the second-generation ot its open-source hardware pico-ice FPGA development board, upgrading the Raspberry Pi RP2040 to the newer RP2350B along with dedicated user LEDs and buttons for both the MCU and the FPGA. The Pico2-Ice also exposes the RP2350B’s HSTX interface through a 22-pin connector, while keeping the same Lattice iCE40UP5K FPGA. The onboard iCE40UP5K FPGA features 5.3k LUTs, 1 MB SPRAM, and 120 KB DPRAM, along with 4MB SPI flash and 8MB low-power PSRAM. The board also exposes all RP2350 pins and 32 FPGA GPIOs via 2.54mm pitch headers in Pmod format. It includes two RGB LEDs and two pushbuttons (separately mapped to the MCU and the FPGA), and integrates onboard 3.3V/1.2V regulators for power. These features make this board suitable for exploring HDLs, embedded systems, and FPGA programming with open-source tools. Pico2-Ice specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350B MCU CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 processor @ […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Alif Ensemble E4, E6, and E8 Cortex-M55/A32 MCUs and MPUs feature Ethos-U85 NPU for small language models (SLM)

Alif Ensemble E4, E6, and E8 Cortex-M55/A32 MCUs and MPUs feature Ethos-U85 NPU for small language models (SLM)

Alif Ensemble E4 E6 E8 Ethos U85 MCU small language models

Alif Semiconductor unveiled the Ensemble E4, E6, and E8 dual-core Cortex-M55 Edge AI microcontrollers and fusion processors, all equipped with Arm Ethos-U85 with the ability to run small language models (SLM) on-device while consuming just 36mW of power on the E4 SKU. Besides the ability to handle generative AI workloads, the new microcontrollers also integrate two power-efficient Ethos-U55 NPUs for AI vision. They can perform power-efficient object detection in less than 2ms and image classification in less than 8ms. Other highlights include support for up to two MIPI CSI image sensors, a fully hardware-accelerated image signal processor (ISP) pipeline operating at up to 60 FPS at 2MP resolution, and a new wide memory subsystem to enable an inferencing speed of well under a millisecond. Alif Ensemble E4 Ensemble E4 specifications: CPU High-Performance Arm Cortex-M55 core @ up to 400 MHz High-Efficiency Arm Cortex-M55 core @ up to 160 MHz GPU […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Nuvoton MG51 8-bit 8051 MCU family features with up to 64KB flash, 4KB SRAM

Nuvoton MG51 8-bit 8051 MCU family features with up to 64KB flash, 4KB SRAM

NuMaker-MG51FC MG51 8-bit 8051 MCU development board

Nuvoton MG51 Series is a new family of 8-bit 8051 microcontrollers clocked at up to 24 MHz with up to 64KB flash, 4KB SRAM, 5V operation, industrial temperature range, and a range of peripherals such as UART, I2C, SPI, 12-bit ADC, as well as up to 46 GPIOs. Some may have assumed 8-bit microcontrollers may be dead by now, but Nuvoton is not giving up, and after the MUG51 8-bit 8051 microcontroller family was introduced in 2023, the company is at it again with the MG51 Series, offering a higher clock speed, higher memory and storage capacity, and additional I/Os. Target applications include home appliances, LED lighting control, motor control, and industrial automation. Nuvoton MG51 specifications: MCU core – 8-bit 1T 8051-based CMOS microcontroller up to 24 MHz; fully compatible with MCS-51 Memory 256 bytes on-chip RAM Up to 4 KB auxiliary RAM (XRAM) Storage Up to 64 KB Flash […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Raspberry Pi RP2350 A4 stepping fixes E9 GPIO Erratum, glitching bugs, introduces 2MB flash variants

Raspberry Pi RP2350 A4 stepping fixes E9 GPIO Erratum, glitching bugs, introduces 2MB flash variants

Raspberry Pi RP2350 A4 stepping

The Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core Arm/RISC-V has gotten a new version – A4 stepping – addressing bugs and security vulnerabilities, notably the infamous E9 GPIO erratum and glitching bugs in the A2 stepping identified by the 2024 Hacking Challenge. Both RP2350A and RP2350B variants will benefit from the new stepping and be marked RP2350A0A4 and RP2350B0A4, respectively. The company also announced the availability of the 2MB flash variants, the RP2354A and RP2354B (unveiled in March 2025), that do not require flash on the board. RP2350 A4 stepping highlights: Fixes Glitching bugs identified in the 2024 Hacking Challenge. Exploits required physical access to the chip. The E9 GPIO erratum related to GPIO pull-ups. A4 stepping is a drop-in replacement for the earlier A2 stepping. 5V-tolerant GPIOs; Note: the chip must remain powered while 5V IOs are used (See updated datasheet for details) RP2354A and RP2354B variants with 2MB of stacked-in-package QSPI […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on VS Code gets AutoML Embedded plugin for automated model tuning, deployment, and benchmarking

VS Code gets AutoML Embedded plugin for automated model tuning, deployment, and benchmarking

VS Code AutoML Embedded

AutoML for Embedded, developed by Analog Devices (ADI) and Antmicro, is an open-source plugin for Visual Studio Code that works alongside ADI’s CodeFusion Studio plugin. Built on the Kenning framework, it automates the full ML pipeline, including model search, hyperparameter tuning, optimization, compression, and deployment, making edge AI development easy on resource-constrained devices. The company mentions that it supports the ADI MAX78002 AI accelerator MCU, the MAX32690 MCU, Renode-based simulation, and Zephyr RTOS. It uses SMAC and Hyperband algorithms for automated model search and hyperparameter tuning, along with model compression and quantization to meet strict memory and compute limits. The plugin offers built-in benchmarking for inference speed, memory footprint, and accuracy, while performing RAM and compute compatibility checks. All these features make it useful for applications like image classification, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, NLP, and action recognition on low-power IoT and embedded systems. AutoML Embedded overview: Type – Open-source AutoML plugin […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Arduino Nano R4 board launched for $12.10 with Renesas RA4M1 microcontroller

Arduino Nano R4 board launched for $12.10 with Renesas RA4M1 microcontroller

Arduino Nano R4

Arduino has shrunk the UNO R4 with the Arduino Nano R4 board equipped with the same 48 MHz Renesas RA4M1 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller, but offered in a much more compact form factor. It’s closer to the UNO R4 Minima in terms of functionality, since it lacks the ESP32 wireless module and LED matrix found in the UNO R4 WiFi board. The new Nano R4 still features a USB-C port, an I2C Qwiic connector, and two 15-pin GPIO headers with castellated holes for expansion. Arduino Nano R4 specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 48 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256KB flash, 8KB EEPROM USB – 1 x USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion 2x 15-pin GPIO headers 21x digital I/Os Analog 8x 14-bit analog input pins, 1x Op Amp using A1, A2, and A3 pins 12-bit analog DAC 6x PWM 1x UART, 1x I2C (5V), 1x […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 4 Comments on Industrial IoT board based on NuMicro M467 Ethernet MCU follows Arduino UNO R4 form factor

Industrial IoT board based on NuMicro M467 Ethernet MCU follows Arduino UNO R4 form factor

Nuvoton NuMaker UNO M4 Cortex M4 industrial dev board

The NuMaker-UNO-M4 is an industrial-grade IoT development board powered by a Nuvoton NuMicro M467 series Arm Cortex-M4F Ethernet MCU and following the Arduino UNO R4 form factor. The board also comes with Ethernet, RS485, CAN FD, and a microSD card slot for data logging. Power options include 5V via USB Type-C, 5–5.5V through a DC jack, and external 3.3V/5V through headers. It also features Arduino-compatible headers, push buttons, status LEDs, and a dedicated high-speed USB for power and programming. Nuvoton NuMaker-UNO-M4 Specifications SoC –Nuvoton NuMicro M467SJHAN CPU – Arm Cortex-M4 @ up to 192 MHz, with FPU and DSP Memory – Up to 512 KB SRAM with 64 KB parity check Storage Up to 1024 KB Flash with dual-bank, FOTA, and XOM support 8 KB LDROM, 3 KB OTP ROM Storage – MicroSD card slot Connectivity – 4-pin 10/100 Mbps Ethernet connector via RealTek RTL8201FI PHY USB – USB Type-C port […]

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