SolidRun announced a new line of efficient and powerful system-on-module solutions based on the RZ/G2 family of SOCs from Renesas. SolidRun is a developer and manufacturer of high-performance, system-on-module (SOM) solutions, single-board computers (SBC), and network edge solutions.
As the first product to emerge from this partnership, these new SOMs are uniquely engineered and positioned as an ideal foundation for AI-enhanced human-machine-interface (HMI) applications, industrial and building automation, video surveillance, IoT solutions, and more.
“We developed our RZ/G2 family of general-purpose microprocessors to serve a variety of entry-level HMI products while giving much thought to lowering systems costs and maximizing performance and overall capabilities,” said Frank Urbe, senior manager, SST EMEA at Renesas Electronics Europe. “These compact SOMs are sure to help customers quickly take advantage of the many unique benefits of our powerful and cost-effective MPUs and will shave months of development time off roadmaps.”
Equipped with all necessary power, memory, and I/O subsystems for expedited development, these SOMs take advantage of the RZ/G2LC MPU’s powerful 64-bit Cortex-A55 processor cores deliver 20% greater processing power over conventional Cortex-A53 core processors running at the same frequency. With an integrated Arm Mali-G31 3D GPU, these SOMs also offer excellent image processing capabilities without tasking the CPU.
The embedded GPU also adds value to its advanced AI inference execution processing capabilities, which clock in nearly six times faster than what’s possible with Cortex-A53 processor-equipped devices. Combining the embedded GPU, AI inference capabilities, and hardware H.264 codec with an embedded camera and display interface makes this SOM an excellent platform for intercoms, video doorbells, network cameras, handheld POS systems, and more.
Designed with small form-factor devices like video doorbells and powered IP cameras in mind, this new SOM maintains a tiny footprint measuring just 47 x 30mm. This SOM also offers pin-to-pin compatibility with SolidRun’s NXP i.MX8 Mini SOM, offering customers options when specifying hardware for IoT, building automation, security, and other applications. Because it is pin-to-pin compatible with the i.MX8 Mini SOM, customers can pair the new RZ/G2 SOM with the feature-rich Hummingboard Pulse carrier board for expedited prototyping and product development.
“Network security cameras, video doorbells, smart office controllers, and more all require a few things in common — a powerful processor, image and video processing capabilities, a fast network connection, and varying levels of AI inference processing support,” said Dr. Atai Ziv, CEO at SolidRun. “Working with Renesas, we’ve developed an affordable and surprisingly potent module based on their RZ/G2 line of MPUs that not only satisfies these requirements, but also adds serious value-adding capabilities for the price point. Furthermore, these new SOMs are pin-to-pin compatible with other SOMs we offer, which provides customers new platform options to consider for their products.”
Since many of the industrial and automation applications that this SOM targets require a lot of time between development and release, and since these products tend to remain in operation for many years, long-term software support is a necessity.
Renesas RZ/G2 MPUs adopt the Linux kernel provided by the Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) and provide the verified Linux Package (VLP) on the CIP Linux kernel to reduce Linux maintenance required by customers. This ensures Linux software that drives devices based on the RZ/G2 platform will maintain long-term support for many years.
