Robust and power-efficient reference design for embedded engineers building next-gen HMI, industrial, and vision-based systems, with advanced multimedia support, flexible expansion, and long-term software reliability, it offers a complete platform for rapid prototyping and deployment.
The RZ/G2L-SBC board by Renesas Electronics represents a highly efficient and versatile reference design tailored for embedded systems engineers and product developers seeking a reliable platform for human-machine interfaces (HMI), robotics, industrial controls, and energy-efficient applications. With increasing demand for intelligent edge devices that combine low power consumption with rich multimedia capabilities, this board delivers an optimal blend of performance, connectivity, and flexibility in a compact single board computer (SBC) format. Its design makes it especially relevant for applications involving embedded vision, smart control interfaces, and interactive systems where compactness, cost-efficiency, and extended support matter.
At the heart of the board lies the RZ/G2L processor, a highly integrated SoC featuring two 1.2GHz Arm Cortex-A55 cores for application processing, a 200MHz Cortex-M33 core for real-time tasks, an Arm Mali GPU for 3D graphics acceleration, and an image scaling unit. A standout feature of this processor is its built-in H.264 video encode/decode capability (up to 1920×1080 resolution), which makes the platform highly suitable for cost-sensitive embedded vision and media display solutions in industrial and consumer devices.
The board is built in a familiar Raspberry Pi form factor and offers an extensive range of expansion interfaces that enhance its utility across diverse use cases. Connectivity options include Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and four USB 2.0 host ports. It supports multimedia applications through a MIPI DSI interface with touch support and a MIPI CSI camera interface, while industrial protocols are enabled via a CAN FD interface. Additionally, it features a Pmod interface and a 40-pin Pi HAT-compatible expansion header, along with two additional sockets for daughter cards, allowing developers to integrate application-specific peripherals with ease.
For analog signal interfacing, the board includes an audio codec, stereo headphone jack, and five 12-bit ADC inputs, accessible via an optional expansion module. It operates on 5V input power delivered via a USB-C connector, regulated by the RAA215300 PMIC for reliable power management. Onboard memory resources include 1GB DDR4 RAM, 64 MiB QSPI NOR flash, and a microSD slot for bootable storage.
Software support is robust, featuring a CIP (Civil Infrastructure Platform) Kernel-based Linux BSP maintained for 10+ years, and reference demos for HMI application development. Developers also benefit from hardware debug access via an unpopulated 10-pin JTAG/SWD header and a 40-pin GPIO interface for flexible I/O control. The board serves as a powerful and future-ready reference platform, empowering embedded designers to rapidly prototype and deploy advanced industrial and graphical applications with reduced development overhead.
Renesas has thoroughly validated this reference design, providing design engineers with a complete set of development resources. These include a detailed bill of materials (BOM), schematics, assembly drawings, and PCB layout files, ensuring a seamless integration process. Additional documentation and support materials—such as the Quick Start Guide, development tools manual, and the RZ MPU Security Package for Linux—are available on the website. To explore these resources and learn more about this reference design, click here.
