A few days ago, Beacon EmbeddedWorks presented a Dev-Kit and a System-on-Module (SoM) integrating the RZ/G2 Arm-Cortex multicore processors from Renesas. These embedded devices are equipped with a 3D Graphic Engine, a VPU Decoder/Encoder, up to 64GB of eMMC storage and many other peripherals. 

The product brief indicates that the SoMs can be ordered with the following Renesas processors:

• RZ/G2N – Dual-core ARM Cortex-A57 (up to 1.5 GHz)
• RZ/G2M – Dual-core ARM Cortex-A57 (up to 1.5 GHz); Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 (up to 1.2GHz)
• RZ/G2H – Quad-core ARM Cortex-A57 (up to 1.5 GHz); Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 (up to 1.2GHz)

The RZ/G2N SoM variant can be ordered with up to 2GB of 32-bit wide LPDDR4 3200 MHz memory. The other two variants can be configured with up to 4GB of 64-bit wide LPDDR4 3200 MHz memory.

RZ/G2 SOM block diagram (left) and SOM front (right)
(click images to enlarge)

The RZ/G2 Series integrates a 3D Graphic Engine (3DGE) supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 1.2 EP. The VPU Decoder offers support for 1080p60 HEVC/H265, H.264 while the VPU Encoder supports 1080p60 H.264. 

The display interface consists of one HDMI 1.4b port (up to 1080p60/4Kp30), one LVDS and one Parallel RGB (up to 24-bit).

 
SOM bottom (left) and NXP A71CH block diagram(right)
(click images to enlarge)

The GPIOs are multiplexed providing access to interfaces as PWMs, SDIO, UART, I2C and SPI. The wireless connectivity support includes GNSS (GPS), Ethernet, Bluetooth 4.2/BLE, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and optional LTE Cat M1/NB IoT Cellular.

Zoom RZ/G2 Development Kit
(click image to enlarge)

The product page for the Zoom RZ/G2 series Development Kit only mentions that it’s equipped with an LCD Panel, Audio & Network Jacks, and the required software & BSPs to speed up product development. 

This embedded device also implements a root of trust IC from NXP which is defined as “a platform capable of securely storing and provisioning credentials, securely connecting IoT devices to cloud services and performing cryptographic node authentication.”

For software development, Beacon EmbeddedWorks will provide Board Support Packages for Android and Linux in addition to their Wattson power measurement software.

Specifications listed for the Beacon EmbeddedWorks RZ/G2 Series SoM include:

• Memory/Storage:
  • Up to 2GB LPDDR4 (RZ/G2N)
  • Up to 4GB LPDDR4 memory (RZ/G2M and RZ/G2H)
  • Up to 64GB eMMC
  • Up to 64MB Quad SPI NOR Flash
• Display:
  • 1x HDMI 1.4b
  • 1x LVDS
  • 1x Parallel RGB
• Audio:
  • 8x I2S ports
  • Direct Memory Access Controller (DMAC)
  • Mixer, Sample Rate Converter, Digital Volume and Mute
• Camera:
  • 1x MIPI CSI-2 (4 lanes)
  • 1x MIPI CSI-2 (2 lanes)
• Expansion:
  • 2x PCIe Gen 2.0 x1 
• Connectivity:
  • Wi-Fi 5
  • Bluetooth 4.2/BLE
  • Ethernet 10/100/1000 MAC + PHY
  • LTE Cat M1 / NB1 and EGPRS Cellular Radio
  • GNSS
• USB:
  • USB 2.0 high-speed On-the-Go controller and PHY
  • USB 2.0 high-speed Host controller and PHY
  • USB 3.0 DRD controller and PHY
• I/O Peripherals:
  • 7x UART interfaces, five with flow control
  • 6x I2C interfaces
  • 3x e SPI interfaces operating as either master or slave
  • 2x CAN 2.0B ports
  • Multiplexed GPIOs
• Security:
  • NXP A71CH Plug and Trust IC
• Other Features:
  • On-board RTC
  • JTAG
• Mechanical:
  • 90 x 66mm
  • 39.8 grams

Further information

The company didn’t provide information about pricing. The RZ/G2 Series SoM product page can be found here. Refer to this other page for more information about the Zoom RZ/G2 Development Kit.