September 25, 2024 /SemiMedia/ — Renesas Electronics Corporation, recently expanded its popular R-Car Family of system-on-chips (SoCs) for entry-level Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The new devices, the R-Car V4M series and the expansion of the existing R-Car V4H series, deliver robust AI processing capability and fast CPU performance, while carefully balancing performance and power consumption. Their exceptional TOPS/W performance and power-optimized features make them ideal for entry-level, cost-sensitive ADAS applications such as front smart camera systems, surround-view systems, automatic parking and driver monitoring systems.

Based on the same advanced 7-nm manufacturing process technology as the powerful R-Car V4H series, the new R-Car V4M series delivers deep learning performance of up to 17 TOPS and boasts high-speed image processing and precise object recognition using on-board cameras, radar and LiDAR. With the addition of the new R-Car V4M and R-Car V4H devices, customers can now select the best suited SoC option in Renesas' scalable  ADAS portfolio. These devices offer advanced AI technology, performance and power efficiency to meet a diverse array of ADAS application requirements. The new devices maintain pin compatibility within the same series and software compatibility with existing R-Car products, allowing OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to reuse existing software and reduce engineering costs.

“We are extending our ADAS offerings to meet the increasing demand for Level 1 and Level 2 ADAS solutions for mass-market vehicles,” said Aish Dubey, Vice President & General Manager, High Performance Computing SoC Business Division at Renesas. “At the same time, we are developing our new 5th Generation R-Car SoCs, which will further bolster our offerings in ADAS, cockpit, gateway, and infotainment segments. We are committed to offer the broadest range of automotive embedded processor solutions for all vehicle classes -- from entry-level to luxury-class models -- all under a single development platform.”

The R-Car V4M and R-Car V4H series feature up to four Arm® Cortex®-A76 cores delivering up to 81K DMIPS performance for application processing. It also comes with three Arm Cortex-R52 lockstep cores with up to 25K DMIPS performance for real-time operation. The new devices are extremely power efficient, providing 9 TOPS/W performance, thanks to their highly integrated design and leading-edge manufacturing process technology. In a typical full-feature smart camera with an 8-megapixel sensor, the R-Car V4M consumes around 5 watts of power – 50 percent less than similar devices on the market.

Key Features of the R-Car V4M Series and R-Car V4H Series

  • Up to four Arm® Cortex®-A76 cores for application processing
  • Up to three Arm Cortex-R52 lockstep cores to support ASIL D real-time operation without external MCUs
  • Dedicated Deep Learning & Computer Vision IP
  • 3D Graphic processor Unit (GPU)
  • Image Signal Processor (ISP) with parallel processing for machine and human vision
  • Image renderer (IMR) for fisheye distortion correction or other mathematical operations
  • Low power consumption
  • Fast boot for camera display (Less than 1 second)
  • Expandable memory size AUTOSAR software partition
  • Dedicated automotive interfaces: CAN, Ethernet AVB, TSN and FlexRay
  • BOM optimized for NCAP, GSR2, L2+ with single chip SoCs without external MCUs
  • Scalability across the R-Car Family
  • Dedicated power management ICs (PIMIC) and power transistors available 

Renesas is sampling the R-Car V4M and R-Car V4H devices to leading automotive manufacturers now, with mass production scheduled in Q1/2026. For more information, please visit here.