Overview
Description
Easy-to-use hardware platform for Voice User Interface (VUI) solutions based on the RA8M1 MCU.
This VUI partner-enabled solution is based on the RA family of 32-bit MCUs. The hardware platform is used for all VUI partner-enabled solutions provided by Renesas within the Renesas Ready Partner Network. It demonstrates how easy it is to control your system with a simple voice command interface without extensive coding experience or in-house expertise.
With the powerful RA8M1 MCU, you will build an enhanced working solution to recognize and execute your own voice commands and can deploy the Natural Language Understanding (NLU) model in a complete end-to-end AI/ML Voice solution.
Features
- Hardware Features:
- Complete solution with accessories included to jumpstart development
- Based on RA8M1 480MHz Arm® Cortex®-M85 MCU
- Connectivity:
- 1 x USB micro AB FS for main MCU
- SEGGER J-Link® OB interface
- 1x Pmod™ connector and 1x auxiliary port
- 2x MEMS AMIC and 2x MEMS DMIC, 6 additional MEMS DMIC on microphone board
- 1x stereo audio headphone jack (mono output on both channels per main board and microphone board)
- On-board debug interface for JTAG or SWD debug port
- Software Features:
- Includes cloud-based development tools DSpotter or DSpotterNLU from Renesas Ready ecosystem partner, Cyberon
- User's manual, quick start guide, etc. are available
Applications
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Edge Voice User Interface (VUI)
Voice control with RA MCUs offers efficient, network-free voice recognition for smart devices.
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Additional Applications
- Home automation
- Consumer electronics
- Building automation
- City infrastructure
- Industrial automation
- Smart agriculture
- Transportation
- Logistics
- Healthcare
Documentation
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| Type | Title | Date |
| PCB Design Files | VK-RA8M1 v2 - Design Files
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| Quick Start Guide | PDF 918 KB | |
| Quick Start Guide | VK-RA8M1 on NLU (Natural Language Understanding) Quick Start Guide
Power your VK-RA8M1 with NLU (Natural Language Understanding) with this quick start guide and its associated sample project.
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| Quick Start Guide | VK-RA8M1 Voice Application Combo (VAS, VCR) Quick Start Guide
The quick start guide and project file for VK‑RA8M1 guides developers to evaluate the voice AI application example combo of Voice Anti-Spoofing (VAS) and Voice Command Recognition (VCR).
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| Quick Start Guide | VK-RA8M1 Voice Application Combo (VAS, VCR, SID) Quick Start Guide
The quick start guide and project file for VK‑RA8M1 guides developers to evaluate the voice AI application example combo of Voice Anti-Spoofing (VAS), Voice Command Recognition (VCR), and Speaker ID (SID).
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| Quick Start Guide | VK-RA8M1 Voice Application Combo (APF, NLU, VAS, CNSV) Quick Start Guide
The quick start guide and project file for the VK‑RA8M1 guides developers to evaluate the voice AI application example combo of Audio Processing Front (APF), Natural Language Understanding (NLU), Voice Anti-Spoofing (VAS), and Speaker Verification (CNSV).
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| Quick Start Guide | PDF 1.07 MB | |
| Quick Start Guide | PDF 1.14 MB | |
| Flyer | PDF 240 KB | |
| Flyer | PDF 301 KB | |
| Brochure | PDF 3.63 MB | |
| Manual - Development Tools | PDF 583 KB | |
| Product Brief | PDF 382 KB 日本語 | |
| Flyer | PDF 656 KB | |
14 items
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Design & Development
Software & Tools
Software & Tools
| Software title
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Software type
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Company
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| Cyberon DSpotter Provides local voice trigger and command recognition with robust noise reduction. Consumes very low resources while delivering high-accuracy performance. Runs on Renesas RA microcontroller unit (MCU) family, RX671, and RX72N, supporting multiple languages, connectivity functions, and security capabilities depending on the selected MCU. Enables offline operation without cloud connectivity for privacy and reliability.
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AI | Cyberon |
| Cyberon DSpotterNLU Provides local free speech control by combining speech recognition and natural language processing. Enables users to give natural and intuitive voice commands without memorizing specific terms. Supports developer tools for creating applications with simple text input, requiring no training data. Runs on Renesas RA8 microcontroller unit (MCU) platforms.
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AI | Cyberon |
| Cyberon Speaker Verification CNSV Provides speaker identification on MCU platforms using a neural network (NN) model. Enables content-independent voice verification with low recognition error rates and high robustness. Supports multiple speaker identification depending on system resources. Runs on Renesas RA8M1 and RA6E1 MCU platforms.
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AI | Cyberon |
| RA Flexible Software Package (FSP) FSP is an enhanced software package designed to provide easy-to-use, scalable, high-quality software for embedded system designs using Renesas RA Family of Arm Microcontrollers.
Note: FSP with e² studio Installer (Platform Installer) will install the e² studio tool, FSP packs, GCC toolchain, and Segger J-Link drivers required to use this software. No additional installations are required.
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Software Package | Renesas |
| Reality AI Tools Reality AI Tools® users automatically explore sensor data and generate optimized models.
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Solution Toolkit | Renesas |
| Reality AI Utilities Round-trip workflow for AI development and performance validation allowing to collect data, optimize models, and deploy directly to Renesas hardware
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Solution Toolkit | Renesas |
| Spoken Language Understanding Local AI–based Spoken Language Understanding (SLU) model recognizes predefined key phrases with support for over 1 million phrases. Enables flexible grammar and vocabulary definition, allowing voice commands in varied formats to be accurately interpreted. Delivers 98%–99% accuracy with ~200 ms latency for fast, reliable response. Uses a customizable 400–600KB model. Runs on Cortex-M3, RISC-V, and low-power NPU. Robust in noisy and far-field conditions with low false triggers. Supports EN, CH, JP, and KR for appliances and wearables.
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AI | Aizip Inc. |
7 items
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Sample Code
Sample Code
Filters
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| Type | Title | Date Date |
| Sample Code | VK-RA8M1 on NLU (Natural Language Understanding) Sample Project
[Software=RA Flexible Software Package|v]
ZIP
1.04 MB
Application:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automotive, Communications Infrastructure, Consumer Electronics, Human Machine Interface (HMI), Industrial
Compiler:
ARMCC
Function:
Application Example
IDE:
e2 studio
Power your VK-RA8M1 with NLU (Natural Language Understanding) with this sample project.
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| Sample Code |
[Software=RA Flexible Software Package|v]
ZIP
2.61 MB
Application:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automotive, Communications Infrastructure, Consumer Electronics, Human Machine Interface (HMI), Industrial
Compiler:
ARMCC
Function:
Application Example
IDE:
e2 studio
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| Sample Code | VK-RA8M1 Voice Application Combo (VAS, VCR) Project
[Software=RA Flexible Software Package|v]
ZIP
13.99 MB
Application:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automotive, Communications Infrastructure, Consumer Electronics, Human Machine Interface (HMI), Industrial
Compiler:
ARMCC
Function:
Application Example
IDE:
e2 studio
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| Sample Code | VK-RA8M1 Voice Application Combo (VAS, VCR, SID) Project
[Software=RA Flexible Software Package|v]
ZIP
14.60 MB
Application:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automotive, Communications Infrastructure, Consumer Electronics, Human Machine Interface (HMI), Industrial
Compiler:
ARMCC
Function:
Application Example
IDE:
e2 studio
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4 items
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Product Options
| Part Number | Status | Stock | Budgetary Price (USD) | Sampleable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTK0EG0005D00001BE | Active | In Stock | 1u | $94.12 | N/A |
Videos & Training
The smart voice, no cloud solution is Renesas’ AI Voice Combo Solution powered by the VK-RA8M1 kit. It delivers advanced voice control without relying on cloud connectivity. The solution features APF for noise isolation, NLU for natural speech recognition, CNSV for speaker verification, and VAS for anti-spoofing. These capabilities enable secure and intuitive user interaction.
Additional Videos
News & Blog Posts
Blog Post Jan 29, 2025 |
Blog Post Jun 1, 2024 |
Resources
Support
Support Communities
- VK-RA8M1 - Project sources
Good morning, I purchased the VK-RA8M1 demo and, in order to evaluate its potential in Italian, etc., so I would need the complete source package. I read in the reference notes that it is necessary to send a request to [email protected], but I have not received a reply ...
Nov 18, 2025 - [vk-ra8m1] Request the the complete project bundle of Voice Command Recognition Demo (VCR) for vk-ra8m1
... ra8m1-ra8m1-voice-user-reference-kit Check the document quick start guide : https://www.renesas.com/en/document/qsg/vk-ra8m1-quick-start-guide?r=25556826 I want the the complete project bundle of Voice Command Recognition Demo (VCR). Could you help me to ...
Nov 8, 2024 - How do I assign .data or .bss to DTCM in e2 Studio for the VK-RA8M1?
I am trying to replicate the Renesas CoreMark scores for the VK-RA8M1 of 6.39 CoreMarks/MHz. It is indicated to obtain this result, that the data needs to reside in DTCM.How do I specify in e2 Studio that the .data (or .bss) should be linked into ...
Jul 2, 2025
Knowledge Base
- What is the difference between Voice Kit RA6/4/2 and VK-RA8M1?
VUI software solution perspective, the VK-RA8M1 can run either VCR (Voice Command Recognition) or NLU (Natural Language Understanding) which modeling tool are both provided by Cyberon. On the other hand, Voice Kit RA6/4/2 series supports VCR (Voice Command Recognition) from Cyberon. For hardware functionality difference ...
Jul 26, 2024 - RA Family: Achieving Half DMA Transfer Interrupt with DMAC Repeat-Block Transfer
... 8000 (DMCRB) Destination address reload size: 16000 (DMDBS) Free-running: Yes (DMTMD.TKP) Implementation Example Below are the configuration settings of the example on the VK-RA8M1 board that captures analog microphone input through the ADC and outputs audio through the DAC. The Smart Configurator settings below highlight the DMA ...
Feb 5, 2026 - Voice Kit with RA Family: What is included in the kit and any other components to prepare in addition?
... Ready ecosystem partner, Cyberon and you are complete to start the evaluation. Please check our web landing page for detail. RA8M1 Voice User Reference Kit (VK-RA8M1): https://www.renesas.com/us/en/products/microcontrollers-microprocessors/ra-cortex-m-mcus/vk-ra8m1 ...
Jul 26, 2024
Support Communities
