Overview

Description

The EK-RA8D1 evaluation kit enables users to effortlessly evaluate the features of the RA8D1 MCU Group and develop embedded systems applications using Renesas' Flexible Software Package (FSP) and e2 studio IDE. Utilize rich on-board features along with your choice of popular ecosystem add-ons to bring your big ideas to life.

The EK-RA8D1 kit consists of three boards: the EK-RA8D1 board featuring the RA8D1 MCU with on-chip graphics LCD controller, a MIPI graphics expansion board featuring a 4.3-inch TFT color LCD with capacitive touch overlay, and a camera expansion board featuring a 3M pixels CMOS image sensor.

Getting Started

Running the Quick Start Example Project

  1. The EK-RA8D1 board comes pre-programmed with a Quick Start example project (source code provided in the EK-RA8D1 example project bundle).
  2. Connect the MIPI graphics & camera expansion boards to the MIPI graphics (J58) & camera (J59) expansion ports on the EK-RA8D1 board.
  3. Power up the EK-RA8D1 board through the USB debug port (J10) using the micro USB device cable connected to a 5V power source. The white power LED will light up.
  4. The Quick Start example project will begin to execute showing the graphic elements on the screen.
  5. Refer to the EK-RA8D1 – Quick Start Guide to explore additional functionality of the Quick Start example project.

Developing Embedded Applications

  1. Modifying the Quick Start example project – Refer to the EK-RA8D1 Quick Start Guide for instructions on importing, modifying and building the Quick Start example project.
  2. Start with one of the many other example projects (provided in the EK-RA8D1 example project's bundle) – Choose from many example projects to learn about different peripherals of the RA8D1 MCU group. These example projects can serve as excellent starting points for you to develop your custom applications.

Building Custom Hardware

  1. Start by building a functional prototype - Utilize the EK-RA8D1 board with your choice of ecosystem add-ons.
  2. Build custom hardware – Develop custom hardware by referring to the design and manufacturing information provided in the EK-RA8D1v1 - Design Package.

Features

  • Special Feature Access
    • MIPI DSI & Parallel Graphics Expansion Ports
    • Camera Expansion Port
    • Ethernet
    • USB High Speed Host & Device
    • 64MB SDRAM
    • 64MB External Octo-SPI Flash
  • MCU Native Pin Access
    • R7FA8D1BHECBD MCU
    • 480MHz, Arm Cortex®-M85 core
    • 2MB Code Flash, 1MB SRAM
    • 224 pins, BGA package
    • Native pin access
    • MCU & USB current measurement
    • DC/DC mode configuration
  • Ecosystem & System Control Access
    • USB Full Speed Host & Device
    • Multiple 5V input sources
      • USB (debug, Full Speed, High Speed)
      • External power supply
    • SEGGER J-Link™ on-board programmer and debugger
    • Debug modes
    • User LEDs and buttons
      • Three user LEDs (red, blue, green)
      • Power LED (white) indicating availability of regulated power
      • Debug LED (yellow) indicating the debug connection
      • Two user buttons
      • One reset button
    • Five most popular ecosystem expansions
      • MikroElektronika™ mikroBUS connector
      • SparkFun® Qwiic® connectors (may not be populated)
      • Two SeeedGrove® system (I2C and analog) connectors (may not be populated)
      • Two Digilent Pmod™ (SPI and UART) connectors
      • Arduino™ (Uno R3) connector
    • MCU boot configuration
  • MIPI Graphics Expansion Board
    • 4.5 Inch backlit TFT display, 16.7M display colors
    • 480x854 pixels resolution
    • 2-lane MIPI interface
    • Capacitive touch overlay (I2C)
  • Camera Expansion Board
    • Off-the-shelf Arducam CMOS OV3640 Camera Module
    • ¼ Inch 3.1 Megapixel image sensor
    • Up to 15 fps in QXGA (2048x1536 pixels) resolution
  • Kit Contents: EK-RA8D1 board, MIPI graphics expansion board, camera expansion board, Micro USB device cable (type-A male to micro-B male), Micro USB host cable (type-A male to micro-B male), Ethernet patch cable, and mounting hardware.

Applications

Documentation

Design & Development

Software & Tools

Software & Tools

Software title
Software type
Company
Renesas Flash Programmer (Programming GUI)
Flash memory programming software [Support MCU/MPU and devices: RA, RE, RX, RL78, RH850, RISC-V MCU Renesas Synergy, DA1453x, DA1459x, DA1469x, DA1470x, Power Management, Renesas USB Power Delivery Family, ICs for Motor Driver/Actuator Driver, V850, 78K0R, 78K0]
Programmer (Unit/SW) Renesas
RA Flexible Software Package (FSP)
FSP is an enhanced software package designed to provide easy-to-use, scalable, high-quality software for embedded system designs using Renesas RA Family of Arm Microcontrollers. Note: FSP with e² studio Installer (Platform Installer) will install the e² studio tool, FSP packs, GCC toolchain, and Segger J-Link drivers required to use this software. No additional installations are required.
Software Package Renesas
SEGGER™ J-Link™ Software and Documentation Package
Software utilities, firmware updates, and supporting documentation for the J-Link on-board programmer and debugger on the RA MCU kits.
Software Package SEGGER
QuickConnect Platform
QuickConnect platform enables fast prototyping by providing compatible hardware and software building blocks.
Software and Hardware Development Tools Renesas
4 items

Sample Code

Related Boards & Kits

Certifications

The EK-RA8D1 kit meets the following certifications/standards. Refer to the EK-RA8D1 user manual for the disclaimer, precautions and more details on the certifications.

EMC/EMI Standards

  • FCC Notice (Class A) – Part 15
  • Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada ICES-003 Compliance: CAN ICES-3 (A)/NMB-3(A)
  • CE Class A (EMC Directive 2004/108/EEC)
  • Taiwan Chinese National Standard 13438, C6357 compliance, Class A limits
  • Australia/New Zealand AS/NZS CISPR 32:2015, Class A

Material Selection, Waste, Recycling, and Disposal Standards

  • EU RoHS
  • China SJ/T 113642014, 10-year environmental protection use period

Safety Standards

  • UL 94V-0