Renesas Electronics Corporation has unveiled a new development board designed for automotive gateway systems, called the R-Car S4 Starter Kit. This affordable and easily accessible kit enables software development using the Renesas R-Car S4 system on chip (SoC), which offers high computing performance and a wide range of communication features for both cloud communication and safe vehicle control. Compared to the existing R-Car S4 Reference Board, the starter kit provides a more cost-effective option without compromising functionality. It allows engineers to quickly initiate their evaluation of car servers, connected gateways, and connectivity modules, facilitating rapid application development.
Takeshi Fuse, Head of Marketing and Business Development, High Performance Computing, Analog & Power Solutions Group at Renesas, expressed the positive response received from customers regarding the R-Car S4 SoC as a preferred choice for gateway SoCs that support the advancement of electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture. He further stated that customers requested a widely usable development environment while keeping costs in check, and the R-Car S4 Starter Kit effectively addresses this need, accelerating the vehicle development process.
The R-Car S4 Starter Kit features essential R-Car S4 interfaces such as Ethernet TSN switch and CAN FD, as well as memory components including 4GB of LPDDR4, 128GB of UFS (Universal Flash Storage), and 64MB of Quad SPI flash memory. Moreover, users can easily expand peripheral functions by leveraging expansion connectors and customize the hardware according to their specific requirements.
Furthermore, Renesas provides the R-Car S4 Whitebox SDK, an open-source automotive development environment for the R-Car S4, which can be combined with the R-Car S4 Starter Kit. The SDK consists of FoC (Free of Charge) software and can be easily used without the need for complicated license agreements. The SDK includes sample software, test programs, and resource monitoring tools for OTA (Over-The-Air software updates), IPS (Intrusion Prevention System), and IDS (Intrusion Detection System) for network security, allowing for various prototyping and evaluation. Users can use the sample software as a base to develop their own applications. This kit shortens development time and reduces energy consumption, thus imposing less impact on the environment.
Availability
The R-Car S4 Starter Kit is available from major distributors or via a Renesas local sales representative. For more information, please visit: https://www.renesas.com/R-Car-S4-StarterKit.
