The “IoT Enabler Kit” Delivers a Flexible, Powerful, Out-of-the-Box Demonstration Platform for Microcontroller-Based Designs
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 16, 2015 — Renesas Electronics America, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the IoT Enabler Kit – a jointly developed demonstration platform with Arrow Electronics, Bug Labs, and NimbeLink that will support developers in bringing designs from concept to cloud more quickly, efficiently, and reliably for connected home, healthcare, industrial building, and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
Designed for use with the Renesas RL78 family of microcontrollers (MCUs), the IoT Enabler Kit provides a complete solution with a robust and seamless development environment spanning sensors at the network edge all the way out to enterprise applications. Working with the IoT Enabler kit, developers can connect the RL78 board to the cloud, monitor the on-board sensors and control the peripherals, and view the enterprise application with no programming required.
“Developing IoT solutions involves so many different areas of expertise that not every company can master them all; the rest must find the right expertise providers, and this takes a lot of time and effort,” said Vin D’Agostino, vice president of marketing, Renesas Electronics America, “With the IoT Enabler, Renesas is bridging the expertise gaps customers face and providing true support from concept to cloud. We’re excited to work with Arrow, Bug Labs, and NimbeLink, helping customers create their innovative new applications easily and efficiently.”
“Arrow recognizes that customers require IoT platforms that provide full end-to-end, edge-to-enterprise solutions. Arrow’s IoT ecosystem spans sensors, embedded, gateways, connectivity, cloud and analytics—we look forward to expanding this ecosystem through our collaboration with Renesas, Bug Labs and NimbeLink on an out-of-the-box, easy-to-implement IoT platform.” Aiden Mitchell, Vice President, Semiconductor Marketing, Arrow Electronics.
“The market has been waiting a long time for a complete developer’s kit like this – the IoT Enabler will make it easy to prototype and evaluate IoT concepts and solutions, whether your objective is to connect existing products and systems or you are designing a new system with integrated connectivity”, Peter Semmelhack, CEO of Bug Labs.
“NimbeLink is excited to be partnering with Renesas, Arrow, and Bug Labs to bring simple cellular connectivity to the IoT Enabler kit. The Certified Skywire modem in the IoT Enabler kit allows customers to get on the cellular network immediately and accelerate their development process.” Kurt Larson, CTO, NimbeLink.
About the IoT Enabler Kit
The IoT Enabler kit delivers an out-of-the-box, edge-to-enterprise solution that takes only minutes to implement, and enables developers to easily build functional IoT applications that consume and display data from multiple, net-connected RL78-based systems. Developers can monitor the RL78 MCU functions remotely via any web connection on a computer, tablet or smart phone. The ability to remotely monitor sensors and systems is vital in allowing companies to operate much more efficiently, reduce costs, and improve operating costs. For example, a company with gas tanks nationwide can monitor its tank levels remotely, saving unnecessary trips by dispatching crews only when and where the tank levels report abnormal levels.
The platform enables developers to freely access remotely deployed edge sensors, peripherals and MCU I/O pins in real time via a standard, RESTful API. The platform also allows users to access the on-board peripherals, develop custom applications using simple APIs, and customize the dashboard using popular web programming languages like Python, Javascript and Ruby.
The joint development platform includes:
- Renesas RL78 MCU board, which integrates the RL78/G14 MCU and several peripherals.
- Free access to Bug Labs’ cloud-based IoT dweet™, freeboard™ application development tools, which allow developers to transform I/O functions and local sensor information into a collection of easily accessible web services. The end result is a totally streamlined prototype and application development cycle.
- NimbeLink PMOD adapter board and Skywire modem, which allow developers to quickly connect their sensors to Bug Labs for products that do not have access to a WiFi connection. NimbeLink’s Skywire modems are available for both GSM and CDMA in 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE models.
Renesas will also host a seminar series with events across the U.S. where attendees will learn more about interconnected intelligence and designing with the IoT Enabler. For more information or to register, visit http://am.renesas.com/event/.
Availability
The IoT Enabler Kit is available now through Arrow.
For more information on Renesas, follow Renesas Electronics America at @RenesasAmerica on Twitter and http://www.facebook.com/RenesasAmerica.
About Renesas Electronics Corporation
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power and SoC products, Renesas provides comprehensive solutions for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications that help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.