Renesas RA MCU integrates the micro-ROS framework to simplify professional robot development

     Renesas Electronics and eProsima, a SME company specializing in middleware solutions, announced that the EK-RA6M5 evaluation Kit based on RA MCUS has become the official support hardware platform for the micro-ROS development Framework, a robotic operating system for MCUS. Renesas teamed up with eProsima, the lead developer of the micro-ROS framework, to port micro-ROS to the RA MCU.

     The micro-ROS framework allows for standardized integration of MCUS in the robotic operating system (ROS) 2 data space, providing an established application development framework for embedded systems based on standard communication middleware. The migration of micro-ROS to the Renesas RA MCU will facilitate the application of the robotics development framework in Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things. The Renesas e2 studio integrated development environment, which runs on Windows and Linux systems, now also supports the implementation of micro-ROS, which will greatly simplify the use of the micro-ROS client library.

     The Renesas Advanced (RA) family of 32-bit Arm® Cortex-M MCUS offers optimized performance, security, connectivity, and peripheral IP to address the challenges of next-generation embedded solutions. Renesas has established a comprehensive partner ecosystem and offers a range of out-of-the-box hardware and software building blocks for RA MCUS, including Microsoft Azure RTOS and FreeRTOS. These features make the RA product family an ideal reference platform for running micro-ROS.

     Roger Wendelken, Senior vice President of Renesas Electronics' iot and Infrastructure Business unit, said: "With the development of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things, robotics is becoming increasingly important. The performance and functionality of the RA product family make it ideal for robotics applications. We are excited to partner with eProsima to bring a powerful solution to our rich and diverse customer base."

     Jaime Martin Losa, CEO of eProsima, said: "In order to achieve low-cost development, it is essential to build a common platform supported by a wide range of hardware and software vendors. micro-ROS is an effective bridge between microcontrollers and ROS 2, extending the range of applications for new robots based on embedded devices."

     In conjunction with other Renesas products, a ROS-based robot ontology controller "Portfolio of success" is now available, demonstrating how to run micro-ROS on the RA6M5. The "Portfolio of Success" consists of analog, power, clock products and embedded processors, providing an easy-to-use architecture that simplifies design and significantly reduces customer design risk for a wide range of applications.