Overview
The EK-RA8D1 evaluation kit enables users to effortlessly evaluate the features of the RA8D1 MCU Group and develop embedded systems applications using Renesas' Flexible Software Package (FSP) and e2 studio IDE. Utilize rich onboard features along with your choice of popular ecosystem add-ons to bring your big ideas to life.
The EK-RA8D1 kit consists of three boards: the EK-RA8D1 board featuring the RA8D1 MCU with on-chip graphics LCD controller, a MIPI graphics expansion board featuring a 4.5-inch TFT color LCD (480 x 854) with capacitive touch overlay, and a camera expansion board featuring a 3M pixels CMOS image sensor.
Getting Started
Running the Quick Start Example Project
- The EK-RA8D1 board comes pre-programmed with a quick start example project (source code provided in the EK-RA8D1 example project bundle).
- Connect the MIPI graphics and camera expansion boards to the MIPI graphics (J58) and camera (J59) expansion ports on the EK-RA8D1 board.
- Power up the EK-RA8D1 board through the USB debug port (J10) using the micro USB device cable connected to a 5V power source. The white power LED will light up.
- The quick start example project will begin to execute showing the graphic elements on the screen.
- Refer to the EK-RA8D1 Quick Start Guide to explore additional functionality of the quick start example project.
Developing Embedded Applications
- Modifying the Quick Start example project – refer to the EK-RA8D1 Quick Start Guide for instructions on importing, modifying, and building the quick start example project.
- Start with one of the many other example projects (provided in the EK-RA8D1 example project's bundle) – choose from many example projects to learn about different peripherals of the RA8D1 MCU group. These example projects can serve as excellent starting points for you to develop your custom applications.
Building Custom Hardware
- Start by building a functional prototype - utilize the EK-RA8D1 board with your choice of ecosystem add-ons.
- Build custom hardware – develop custom hardware by referring to the design and manufacturing information provided in the EK-RA8D1v1 Design Package.
Features
- Special Feature Access:
- MIPI DSI and Parallel Graphics Expansion Ports
- Camera Expansion Port
- Ethernet
- USB High-Speed Host and Device
- 64MB SDRAM
- 64MB External Octo-SPI Flash
- MCU Native Pin Access:
- R7FA8D1BHECBD MCU
- 480MHz, Arm® Cortex®-M85 core
- 2MB Code Flash, 1MB SRAM
- 224 pins, BGA package, 13mm x 13mm x 1.47mm, 0.8mm pitch
- Native pin access
- MCU and USB current measurement
- DC/DC mode configuration
- Ecosystem and System Control Access:
- USB Full Speed Host and Device
- Multiple 5V input sources:
- USB (debug, full speed, high speed)
- External power supply
- SEGGER J-Link™ onboard programmer and debugger
- Debug modes:
- Debug onboard (SWD) – via J-Link
- Debug out (SWD) – via J-Link
- Debug in (ETM, SWD and JTAG) – via J-Link, Arm® Keil® ULINK™, IAR I-jet™, Renesas E2/E2 Lite, etc.
- User LEDs and buttons:
- Three user LEDs (red, blue, green)
- Power LED (white) indicating the availability of regulated power
- Debug LED (yellow) indicating the debug connection
- Two user buttons
- One reset button
- Five most popular ecosystem expansions:
- MikroElektronika™ mikroBUS connector
- SparkFun® Qwiic® connectors (may not be populated)
- Two SeeedGrove® system (I2C and analog) connectors (may not be populated)
- Two Digilent Pmod™ (SPI and UART) connectors
- Arduino® (UNO R3) connector
- MCU boot configuration
- MIPI Graphics Expansion Board:
- 4.5 Inch backlit TFT display, 16.7M display colors
- 480x854 pixels resolution
- 2-lane MIPI interface
- Capacitive touch overlay (I2C)
- Camera Expansion Board:
- Off-the-shelf Arducam CMOS OV3640 Camera Module
- ¼ Inch 3.1 Megapixel image sensor
- Up to 15 fps in QXGA (2048x1536 pixels) resolution
Getting Started
Explore Ready-to-Run Solutions
Sample & Buy
Evaluation Kit for the RA8D1 MCU Group
| Description: | Evaluation Kit for the RA8D1 MCU Group |
| HTS (US): | 8471.50.0150 |
| ECCN (US): | 3A991.a.2 |
| SPQ: | 1 |
| Pb (Lead) Free: | No |
| Assembly Location: | CHINA |
Add-on Hardware
Evaluation Kit for RA8M1 MCU Group
Videos & Training
Learn how to access data flash on the RA8D1 Evaluation Kit by performing erase, blank check, write, and read operations using the Flexible Software Package (FSP). We demonstrate how data flash background operation (BGO) enables execution from code flash during programming and erase. We also explain secure and non‑secure data flash access using Arm® TrustZone® technology. The project shows how flash management supports reliable and secure embedded system design.
Additional Videos
News & Blog Posts
News Dec 12, 2023 |
Blog Post Dec 12, 2023 |
Blog Post Jan 28, 2022 |
Blog Post Jan 28, 2022 |
Blog Post Nov 18, 2021 |
Blog Post Nov 11, 2021 |
Support
Support Communities
- RENESAS EK-RA8D1 Ethernet Connection Issue and JLINK RTT
Hello,I'm currently working with EK-RA8D1 and still testing the build in firmware packages. I have questions about ethernet connections, because when i test the firmware features that requires internet connection through LAN, it failed to connect to the API even though I have connected the EK to ...
Jul 30, 2025 - quickstart_ek_ra8d1_ep_examples Not Building
I have tried building the QuickStart program given for ek-ra8d1 given in EK-RA8D1 Example Project Bundle, but I am getting multiple errors. I am attaching the build log for your reference. Please provide needful assistance. 2047.log.txt This thread was automatically locked due to age.
Mar 14, 2024 - Bug in mipi_dsi_ek_ra8d1_ep mipi_dsi_ep.c
Hi, In the example project of mipi_dsi_ek_ra8d1_ep in mipi_dsi_ep.c (github link) on line 327, there is a while loop that keeps waiting as long as the variable g_vsync_flag is true. Instead, shouldn't it wait as long as g_vsync_flag ...
Feb 21, 2024
Knowledge Base
- RA and FSP Curriculum : Getting Started with EK-RA8D1 Graphics Application Embedded Wizard
Last Updated: 30 Oct 2024 This lab material explains all necessary steps to create an Embedded Wizard UI application suitable for RA8D1 Evaluation Kit. Getting Started with EK-RA8D1 Graphics Application Embedded Wizard for FSP 5.5.0 - a hands on lab using EK-RA8D1, Embedded Wizard Studio and FSP ...
Oct 30, 2024 - How to Access Data Flash on RA8D1 Evaluation Kit
Last updated on 1st June 2026 Summary of the video This video demonstrates how to perform basic Data Flash operations on the EK-RA8D1 board using the Flash HP driver. Flexible Software Package (FSP) supports Data Flash erase, blank check, write, and read operations with the r_flash_hp FSP ...
- How to Use ADC to Read On‑Chip Temperature Sensor on RA8D1 Evaluation Kit
Last updated on 1st June 2026 Summary of the video This video demonstrates how to measure the internal MCU temperature on the EK-RA8D1 board using the ADC temperature sensor. Flexible Software Package (FSP) supports ADC operation with the r_adc FSP module. This example demonstrates configuring the ADC with ...
Support Communities
