The Sparrow Hawk from Retronix Technology is a single-board computer built around the Renesas R-Car V4H processor. Originally developed for automotive applications, the R-Car V4H combines Arm Cortex-A76 and Cortex-R52 CPU cores with integrated graphics and AI acceleration. Retronix cites robotics, smart manufacturing, computer vision, and industrial edge systems as example use cases.

The board is built around the Renesas R-Car V4H SoC featuring four Arm Cortex-A76 cores operating at up to 1.8GHz alongside three lockstep Arm Cortex-R52 cores clocked at up to 1.4GHz. Graphics are handled by an AXM-8-256 GPU operating at 600MHz and rated for more than 150 GFLOPS, while the platform delivers up to 30 TOPS of compute performance.

Memory options include either 8GB LPDDR5 running at 6400 MT/s or 16GB LPDDR5 operating at 5500 MT/s. Storage is provided through a microSD card slot and 64MB of QSPI NOR flash, while expansion is available through an M.2 Key-M connector with PCIe Gen4 connectivity.

R-Car V4H SBC block diagram

The Sparrow Hawk exposes a range of industrial and development-oriented interfaces, including CAN-FD, Gigabit Ethernet AVB networking, multiple USB 3.0 ports, DisplayPort output, camera inputs, and a Raspberry Pi-compatible 40-pin expansion header. The hardware manual also notes support for 2230 and 2242 M.2 modules through a PCIe x2 interface.

R-Car V4H SBC bottom view

According to the hardware manual, the board provides a 40-pin GPIO header supporting GPIO, I²C, and UART connectivity, alongside dual camera inputs, DisplayPort output, CAN-FD, and Ethernet AVB networking.

R-Car V4H SBC top view

The Sparrow Hawk supports Yocto and Debian Linux distributions. Retronix also provides downloadable software packages, a hardware user manual, reference schematics, PCB layout files, component placement documentation, and a 3D CAD model for developers.

Specifications listed for the Sparrow Hawk include:

• Processor:
  • Renesas R-Car V4H SoC
    • 4× Arm Cortex-A76 cores @ 1.8GHz
    • 3× lockstep Arm Cortex-R52 cores @ 1.4GHz
• Graphics:
  • AXM-8-256 GPU @ 600MHz
• Memory:
  • Up to 16GB LPDDR5-5500
• Storage:
  • 64MB QSPI NOR flash
  • microSD card slot
• Expansion:
  • 1× M.2 Key-M slot
  • PCIe Gen4 interface
  • Supports 2230 and 2242 modules
  • 40-pin GPIO header
• Display:
  • 1× DisplayPort
  • 1× MIPI DSI
• Camera:
  • 2×MIPI CSI
• Networking:
  • 1× Gigabit Ethernet AVB port
  • 2× CAN-FD ports
• USB:
  • 2× USB 3.0 Type-A
  • 2× USB 3.0 Type-C
• Audio:
  • 3.5mm headset jack
  • 3.5mm AUX input
• Debug:
  • 2× serial debug ports
  • 20-pin JTAG connector
• Power:
  • USB PD input
  • 20V, 3A to 5A (60W to 100W)
• Operating temperature:
  • 0°C to 40°C
• Mechanical:
  • 146 × 90 mm

Further Information

Retronix notes that the Sparrow Hawk R-Car V4H SBC is available through Shimafuji Electric, although pricing has not been disclosed.