One year after formally announcing the acquisition of embedded AI solutions provider Reality Analytics, Inc. (Reality AI), Renesas Electronics today announced its latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and miniature machine Learning (TinyML) solutions.

On June 9, 2022, Renesas announced the acquisition of Reality AI in an all-cash transaction. Reality AI’s broad range of embedded AI and TinyML solutions for advanced non-visual sensing in automotive, industrial and consumer products are perfectly suited to Renesas embedded processing and iot products. They provide machine learning with advanced mathematical methods for signal processing, enabling fast and efficient machine learning inference for small MCUS and powerful MPUs. With Reality AI Tools®, a software environment that supports the full product development lifecycle, users can automatically explore sensor data and generate optimized models. Reality AI Tools includes analytical capabilities to find the best sensor or combination of sensors, where the sensors are placed, and automatically generate component specifications, as well as fully interpret model functions in time/frequency domains.

In just one year since the acquisition was announced, Renesas has launched a series of solutions based on Reality AI technology. The following products will be on display at Sensors Converge, June 20-22 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Renesas Electronics booth No. 945.

Reality AI Tools is now tightly integrated with Renesas computing products and natively supports all Renesas MCUS and MPUs through the built-in part selection engine. Automatic context switching between Reality AI Tools and Renesas’s embedded development environment, e2Studio, is also available.

The RealityCheck™ Motor Toolbox is an advanced machine learning software toolbox that uses electrical information from the motor control process to enable the development of features such as predictive maintenance, anomaly detection and intelligent control feedback, without the need for additional sensors. It can reduce downtime by early detection of small fluctuations in system parameters that indicate maintenance issues and anomalies. The software not only works seamlessly with Renesas MCUS, MPUs, and motor control suites, but is also fully integrated with Reality AI Tools to create, validate, and deploy sensor classification or predictive models at scale. The feature is a predictive model-building toolchain that developers can easily access, out of the box, with the Reality AI toolchain.

VME-PROF-S

RealityCheck™ HVAC Solutions Suite is a vertically integrated suite of solutions for the HVAC sector. The solution is a complete framework that includes hardware and firmware reference designs, a set of pre-trained ML models for product design, and a clear process for model training, customization, and field testing to meet specific product requirements. This will significantly improve the efficiency of HVAC systems.

The Automotive SWS solution suite uniquely combines hardware and software to bring a higher level of protection to passengers. The kit comes with a MEMS microphone array that can be integrated in a component or placed on the roof of the car. Run AI detection and positioning software on affordable hardware using a flexible placement control MCU. The AI model accurately detects and classifies different threats at a distance of 1.5 kilometers for sirens, over 35 meters for cars, trucks and motorcycles, and 10 meters for cyclists and joggers. Positioning capabilities are also provided through AI models that calculate the Angle of arrival, predict the distance and detect whether a threat is approaching or moving away.

Customers across a wide range of industries are already using Renesas AI solutions for a variety of applications. For example, ITT Goulds Pumps is using Renesas AI technology for data analysis. “The unique capabilities of Renesas AI technology have helped us develop machine diagnostics that can effectively identify equipment failures caused by severe vibration and high temperatures,” said Brad DeCook, director of monitoring and control research at Renesas.

Sailesh Chittipeddi, executive vice president and general manager of Embedded Processing, Digital Power and Signal Chain at Renesas Electronics, said: “As more customers implement AI at endpoints, we believe the convergence of AI and iot is creating an important inflection point. Incorporating Reality AI’s unique and powerful technology into our product lineup helps our customers use less computing and power, enabling faster and more accurate information processing and response.”

Successful product portfolio

Renesas has integrated its AI technology into numerous “winning product portfolios” for automotive, industrial and iot applications. Two examples of solutions that benefit from Reality AI technology are vibration detection for motor control and intelligent heat pumps with high efficiency and cost optimization. These “portfolio of successful products” highlight application scenarios where Reality AI technology can enable intelligent detection of motor anomalies for preventive maintenance, which can save customers significant repair costs. Renesas’ Portfolio of successful products relies on products that are compatible and work seamlessly together, coupled with a technologically proven system architecture that results in optimized low-risk designs and faster time-to-market. Renesas has now launched more than 400 “Success portfolios” designed to help customers accelerate the design process and get their products to market faster.