The HMI market continues to drive growth in better user experience and increased automation with the expansion of HMI applications. This results in a strong demand for improved functionality and performance in display-based applications, such as real-time plotting, smooth animation, and USB camera image capture, in affordable systems. Microprocessors (MPUs) with high-speed, large-capacity built-in memory that can be used like microcontrollers (MCUs) are gaining attention in the market. Renesas' RZ/A3M MPU with a built-in 128MB DDR3L SDRAM and a compatible package for a two-layer PCB design is the ideal solution for realizing smooth animation and high-quality HMI at a reasonable system cost.
High-Performance HMI and Real-Time Graphics
Integrating high-speed, large-capacity memory directly into the MPU package offers several advantages, including mitigating concerns about high-speed signal noise on the PCB and simplifying PCB design for the users. The large-capacity memory needed for high-performance HMIs is externally connected to the MPU in the conventional way. Additionally, PCBs equipped with DDR memory and high-speed signal interfaces require multi-layer PCB designs to account for signal noise, making it challenging to reduce PCB costs. Also, the common capacity of on-chip SRAM is typically between 1MB and 10MB, which is too small for high-performance HMIs that need to include a reasonable number of tasks in the near future. To overcome these issues, Renesas released an industry-leading RZ/A3M MPU with a large built-in 128MB DDR3L memory to support high-performance HMI and real-time graphics performance to enhance better and faster user experiences. Most importantly, the board does not require a high-speed signal interface and supports two-layer PCB design to reduce board noise and simplify system development for users.
Designing High-Performance PCBs at a Reasonable System Cost
The number of PCB layers and the ease of design significantly impact the cost of system implementation and maintenance in user applications. As shown in Figure 2, using a wide pin pitch of 0.8mm allows for the layout of signal lines and placement of VIAs between the balls. Additionally, placing the balls handling the main signals in the outer rows of the 244-pin 17mm x 17mm LFBGA package and positioning the GND and power pins as inner balls allows for efficient routing of the necessary signal lines for the system (Figure 3). The RZ/A3M MPU is designed to build cost-effective systems with two-layer PCBs through its innovative packaging and pin assignments.
User-Friendly Interface Enabling Smooth GUI Display
The high-resolution graphic LCD controller integrated into the RZ/A3M supports both parallel RGB and 4-lane MIPI-DSI interfaces, accommodating displays up to 1280x800. Additionally, the 2D graphics engine, high-speed 16-bit 1.6Gbps DDR3L memory, and 1GHz Arm® Cortex®-A55 CPU enable high-performance GUI displays, including smooth animations and real-time plotting that increase the possibility of automation in HMI applications. Connecting a USB camera to the USB 2.0 interface enables smooth capture of camera images, making it easy to check inside of an apparatus, for example, the doneness of the food in the oven or the condition in the refrigerator.
The EK-RZ/A3M is an evaluation kit for the RZ/A3M. It includes an LCD panel with a MIPI-DSI interface. With this kit, users can immediately start evaluation. Renesas also has several graphics ecosystem partners – LVGL, SquareLine Studio, Envox, Crank, RTOSX – who deliver GUI solutions utilizing the EK-RZ/A3M to further accelerate your development cycle.
The RZ/A3M MPU, equipped with high-speed 128MB DDR3L memory and a 1GHz Arm Cortex-A55, excels in developing cost-effective HMI applications with real-time plot UIs, smooth animations, and USB camera capture. The integrated memory simplifies PCB design by removing the need for high-speed signal interface design. Visit www.renesas.com/rza3m to learn more about the technical details and how to start developing the next HMI applications for consumer electronics, smart home, building automation, healthcare, industrial applications, and office automation.