Renesas Electronics Corporation, a provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced that its cloud mobile development kits (powered by Renesas 32-bit microcontrollers) fully support Microsoft's popular Azure cloud services.
The two Cloud Kits — the CK-RA6M5 and CK-RX65N — enable users to readily connect and manage wireless IoT devices via the cloud. With these latest updates, IoT device developers can now take advantage of unique features and services available through Azure, an open and flexible cloud computing platform used by billions of devices around the world.
“Bringing Renesas Cloud Kits into the Azure cloud ecosystem is a natural step,” said Stefan Wick, IoT Edge and RTOS product lead at Microsoft Azure. “By customizing the Renesas Embedded Wireless Framework for MCUs, engineers can reuse application code across different IoT products and leverage a flexible abstraction interface to seamlessly connect IoT systems to Azure cloud services. Using the pre-configured development platform, systems developers can leverage the power of Azure IoT and create reliable and scalable IoT solutions, saving development time and costs.”
Both cloud development kits incorporate Renesas' LTE CAT-M1 module, which connects MCUs wirelessly to cloud services without a gateway. The kits are powered by Microsoft's new Embedded Wireless Framework, providing a simplified link to the Azure cloud platform.
The Embedded Wireless Framework allows any network adapter to securely connect to the cloud, providing greater flexibility and better lifecycle management for cloud-based products. Asset tracking, building automation, medical data management, voice command and industrial control are some of the embedded applications that can benefit from Renesas Cloud Kits.
To ensure reliable functionality and interoperability, the CK-RA6M5 and CK-RX65N kits have been certified by Microsoft Azure. This means devices are validated to connect to Azure IoT Hub and can be securely provisioned using the Device Provisioning Service. Additionally, both devices are IoT Plug and Play certified, allowing developers to integrate the devices into their solutions using predefined device templates. This eliminates the need to manually configure the hardware.
Renesas Cloud Kits include a high-performance MCU, the Pmod RYZ014A Cat-M1, six integrated sensors and extensive peripherals including a USB FS connector, USB to UART serial converter, two PMOD connectors and a battery connector.
For additional layers of security, Renesas collaborated with its partner, Crypto Quantique, to implement a software-based IoT encryption platform that securely connects IoT devices to applications hosted on on-premises servers or in the cloud. Hardware-based security, such as the Renesas Secure Crypto Engine 9 (SCE9) and Trusted Secure IP (TSIP) driver, has been incorporated into the RA6M5 and RX65N MCUs, respectively.
“The opportunities that the Azure cloud platform brings to IoT developers are limitless,” said Roger Wendelken, senior vice president and head of MCU business in the Infrastructure and IoT business unit at Renesas. “Our Azure-enabled Cloud Kits provide engineers with a powerful development environment to build, evaluate, and deploy cloud-based IoT solutions with confidence. With real-time data analytics and easy integration with other Azure services, developers can focus on building best-in-class IoT applications.”
“We are proud to be involved in implementing enhanced security measures for the Renesas Cloud Kits, as well as providing fast and seamless connectivity to the Azure cloud,” added Chris Jones, director of applications at Crypto Quantique. “Our QuarkLink IoT platform offers industry-leading security, giving customers peace of mind knowing their data and devices are secure.”