Japanese electronics company Renesas has launched cellular-to-cloud IoT development platforms powered by its RA and RX MCU families.

The CK-RA6M5 and CK-RX65N cloud development kits provide complete connectivity for the RA and RX 32bit microcontrollers (MCUs). The cloud kits are the first to be equipped with the firm’s RYZ014A Cat-M1 module, a certified LTE cellular module that can establish wireless connection between MCUs and cloud services quickly and securely without a gateway.

Armed with these cloud kits, users can rapidly develop IoT cloud products without having to design their own complex circuitry and software stacks. The kits include the RYZ014A Cat-M1 Pmod module, multiple sensors, MCU, hardware-based security and a software stack.

The cloud kits are ready to connect to global cloud service providers such as AWS Cloud and IoT services. Both kits are designed to run on AWS FreeRTOS for CK-RA6M5 using FSP (flexible software package) and CK-RX65N using RDP (RX driver package). Once connected to AWS IoT Core, the kits have access to many cloud and IoT services from AWS for data analytics and IoT device management.

“We are pleased that the Renesas cloud kits are qualified AWS partner devices,” said Muneyuki Watanabe, head of partner alliances for AWS in Japan. “Renesas’ IoT cloud kits are great examples of hardware and software platforms that can help IoT developers to realise the full potential of AWS IoT services and accelerate development. The new cloud kits combine highly secure MCUs, AWS libraries, the FreeRTOS software stack, and a dashboard with a vast collection of IoT cloud services. Together, the kits provide access to market-ready platforms for manageable and scalable cloud solutions.”

Roger Wendelken, senior vice president at Renesas, added: “With Renesas’ first cellular Cat-M1 module, we are adding ubiquitous cellular connectivity to our cloud offerings, providing our customers more flexible and reliable cloud connectivity options. Our complete cloud solutions allow engineers to focus on designing unique IoT systems that can be adopted in a wide variety of applications such as building and home automation, smart metering, healthcare and industrial applications.”

The cloud kits are the first to support the Renesas RA6M5 and RX65N MCU groups under a unified development platform, ensuring a consistent user experience. The CK-RA6M5 and CK-RX65N have identical hardware and software features and a common dashboard user interface to access real-time cloud data.

In addition to the Cat-M1 RYZ014A wireless module, the kits also provide an option to use Ethernet to connect securely to the cloud when the Cat-M1 network is not available. Renesas plans to offer more wireless connectivity options in the future. These kits will also be offered as part of Renesas’ Quick-Connect IoT platform, which combines standard hardware and software building blocks to enable rapid prototyping of IoT systems.

“Mobile cloud computing is leading a new era for data storage and processing, especially now that cellular IoT devices have become so pervasive,” said Georges Karam, CEO of Sequans Communications. “Packed with on-board sensors and the Cat-M1 module powered by Sequans’ Monarch technology, Renesas’ cloud kits will be ideal platforms for evaluating and deploying mobile cloud applications for wireless IoT systems.”

The RA6M5 MCUs use an Arm Cortex-M33 core with TrustZone and secure crypto engine, and RX65N MCUs with TSIP trusted secure IP.

The kits are available from Renesas worldwide distributors and will include a $10 AWS credit and 30 days of free Cat-M1 data for cloud connection.