Renesas debuts Linux solution for 32-bit microprocessors

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 4/5/2007

Renesas Technology America Inc. announced this week at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose, Calif., a complete Linux solution for key Renesas 32-bit SuperH microprocessors.

The new Linux solution is available for the SH7354, SH7343, SH7722, and SH7763. It consists of a Linux board support package (BSP), network protocol stack, and Linux system integration, which Renesas said offer an out-of-box experience that allows developers of Linux embedded systems to shorten their development time and get products to market quicker.

Three of the devices, SH7354, SH7343 and SH7722, targeted at multimedia applications, are members of the SH-Mobile product line, which have a built-in H. 264 video CODEC engine. Built on the SH4AL-DSP CPU core, these low-power devices can readily handle JPEG, MP3, and MPEG-4 data. The SH7763, on the other hand, is targeted at industrial control and office automation systems and based on the SH-4A core with a built-in floating point unit (FPU) for higher performance and precise real-time processing capabilities. The 478MIPS device has an Ethernet controller, an LCD controller and a USB interface.

The OS kernel in the Linux solution for the SH4AL-DSP based processors requires about 500 Kbytes, Renesas said. Capabilities available include network management stacks, media players, GUI libraries and 3D graphics support, according to the company.

Additionally, the Linux BSP includes device drivers for peripherals such as an LCD controller and USB, Ethernet, serial, and audio interfaces. Audio, video and speech CODEC functions have been pre-integrated and are available as fully optimized, verified middleware, Renesas said.

The free Linux solution for SH7722, SH7354, SH7343 and SH7763 series microprocessors will be available in Q2.