MPUs with best-in-class power efficiency and high-precision AI accelerator

Renesas Electronics Corporation has expanded its RZ/V Series of MPUs with the new RZ/V2L MPUs created for entry-level AI-enabled applications. As part of the series, the new MPUs include the company's exclusive AI accelerator – the DRP-AI – to make embedded AI easier and more power-efficient. The new MPU shares various features with its predecessor, the RZ/V2M, such as high-precision AI inference capabilities coupled with top-class power efficiency. It also incorporates optimisations such as tailoring the DRP-AI operating frequency and memory interface for an entry-level MPU.

The DRP-AI offers real-time AI inference and image processing functions with the capabilities crucial for camera support, such as colour correction and noise reduction. This enables customers to develop AI-based vision applications, such as POS terminals and robot vacuum cleaners, without requiring an external ISP. In addition, the device’s excellent power efficiency removes the demand for heat dissipation measures such as heat sinks or cooling fans. Now, AI can be implemented cost-efficient not only in surveillance cameras and industrial equipment but also in an extensive range of applications, including home appliances and consumer electronics.

The RZ/V2L is also packaged and pin-compatible with existing RZ/G2L general-purpose MPUs. This enables RZ/G2L users to simply upgrade to the RZ/V2L for extra AI functions without altering the system configuration, keeping migration costs low.

“One of the most important trends in the electronics industry today is the incorporation of AI into embedded devices – especially AI for interpreting sensor data, such as images,” said Jeff Bier, general chairman of the Embedded Vision Summit and Founder of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance. “Innovative processors like the RZ/V2L are key for enabling perceptual AI to be incorporated into a wide range of cost- and power-constrained IoT devices.”

“Our new entry-level AI accelerator products provide customers with the flexibility to select the most suitable product from a wide range of MPU offerings,” said Hiroto Nitta, senior vice president and head of SoC Business in the IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit at Renesas. “These AI-optimized solutions will expand the use of embedded AI to a wider range of applications such as home appliances and consumer electronics, as customers can now implement AI capability with lower system costs.”