Renesas launches RISC-V voice recognition chip
Renesas Electronics has developed its first RISC-V microcontroller designed for voice recognition interfaces systems using IP from Andes.
The R9A06G150 32bit application specific processor (ASSP) provides a complete, cost-effective, production-ready voice-control system that eliminates the need for RISC-V tools and upfront software investment.
The chip is pre-programmed using specialized application code developed by independent design houses and supports multiple languages and user-defined keywords for voice-recognition operations. The chip is aimed at residential and commercial building automation, home appliances, toys and healthcare devices and ecosystem partners can provide turnkey voice-control applications for volume production.
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Application code has been developed by leading independent design house, Cyberon, an expert in voice-recognition technology, and Orbstar, a systems integrator specializing in embedded solutions As they did with Renesas’ previous motor control ASSP, Segger Microcontroller will provide support for the voice-control ASSP with its complete ecosystem, including Embedded Studio and J-Link.
The chip uses the AndesCore D25F CPU core based on the AndeStar V5 architecture running at 10MHz with 256K program flash, 128K RAM and 16KB data flash. Specialized audio PDM & SSI interface blocks provide seamless connection to microphones and codecs and it is compatible with low-cost analog microphones and outputs and it is controlled by an external host via SCI/Uart, SPI, I3C or I2C interfaces. It is packaged in a 48, 32 or 24 pin quad flat pack for low cost designs.
This follows the introduction last year of a 32-bit RISC-V motor-control ASSP and 64-bit general-purpose RZ/Five MPUs based on a 64-bit RISC-V CPU.
“Renesas continues to broaden our RISC-V MCU/MPU offering, in this case by delivering designers an innovative voice-command HMI with pre-developed software that shortens development time and time to market,” said Roger Wendelken, Senior Vice President in Renesas’ IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit. “Through close collaboration with the RISC-V partner ecosystem, this flexible, scalable ASSP solution allows customers interested in voice control to support different application classes on the same MCU hardware platform.”
“We are excited to be part of Renesas’ turnkey voice control solution,” said Frankwell Lin, Andes’ Chairman and CEO. “The 32-bit AndesCore D25F was engineered to deliver high per-MHz performance in a small silicon footprint. Major mixed-signal ASSP developers such as Renesas can thus concentrate on their core engineering innovation and outsource non-critical elements of their design to CPU core suppliers such as Andes.”
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Renesas has designed a Winning Combination, Voice Control HMI with RISC-V ASSP, that employs the R9A06G150 and other compatible devices from the Renesas portfolio to support general-purpose voice-control HMI systems. This integrated, pre-programmed, turnkey solution, adds HMI voice control capability without any user code programming, and can be used in IoT, hands-free, or smart appliance applications. The complete reference design enables customized wake-up words and commands and supports multiple languages.
The R9A06G150 is available now.
