13 ms·

Arduino Uno R4 WiFi

144 points by matthewfelgate 3y ago

matthewfelgate 3y ago
The Arduino UNO R4 WiFi merges the RA4M1 microprocessor from Renesas with the ESP32-S3 from Espressif, creating an all-in-one tool for makers with enhanced processing power and a diverse array of new peripherals. With its built-in Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® capabilities, the UNO R4 WiFi enables makers to venture into boundless creative possibilities. Furthermore, this versatile board boasts a convenient on-board 12x8 LED matrix and a Qwiic connector, offering ample space for innovation and unleashing creativity. This dynamic combination empowers makers to transform their ideas into reality and elevate their projects to unprecedented heights.
- adolph 3y ago
  That is a weird combo. Up front it looks like the RA4M1 is the main compilation target and probably has all the IO. Then you have a wifi chip of a different compile target that is faster and more capable in the back. Truely this is the mullet of dev boards. RA4M1 [0] 48MHz Arm Cortex-M4F Core 256kB Flash Memory and 32kB SRAM ESP32-S3 [1] dualcore 32bit LX7, up to 240 MHz Flash up to 8 MB, optional 2 MB PSRAM in chip package 39 GPIOs, rich set of peripherals 0. https://www.mouser.com/new/renesas/renesas-ra4m1-mcu/ https://www.mouser.com/new/renesas/renesas-ra4m1-mcu/ 1. https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Espressif-Systems/ESP32-S3-MINI-1-N8 https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Espressif-Systems/ESP32...
  - matthewfelgate 3y ago
    I concur. I'm not sure why not just buy a ESP32-S3 based board...
    - adolph 3y ago
      Another bad thing about the s3 is no wifi6. The c6 is the first esp with it.
no_time 3y ago
What an odd board. The ESP32-S3 is an absolute powerhouse by itself. I really don't see why would you add another (probably pricey) MCU to serve as the master.
- NoraCodes 3y ago
  Honestly, I think it's a good choice; I can absolutely see folks running a small web server or something on the ESP32 and putting their realtime code on the main MCU, for instance.
  - hoosieree 3y ago
    When I did electronics for a psychology department, nearly everything had to have both hard real-time sensing and be plug-and-play with Windows and MacOS. We ended up using a lot of Arduinos, but having a webserver on board would have been so much nicer than serial over USB, or transferring from SD cards.
  - teraflop 3y ago
    But the ESP32-S3 is already a dual-core processor.
  - sheepybloke 3y ago
    I think this depends on how the ICs are connected. If it's running something like I2C between them, then your data transfer rates will be too low and you'll be quite limited in some of the applications.
- jareklupinski 3y ago
  yea I go for the S3 when I need networking on one core while still running realtime applications on the other core, but it's the priciest one i would have probably paired a lower cost -C family (maybe the RISC one for extra nerd cred) with the arduino, since those have only one core, which would have made for a good split maybe i'll think of a three-core micro project :)
- adolph 3y ago
  It is a beast. Here is an example of object detection using the old ESP32: ESP32-CAM Object Detection with Edge Impulse https://dronebotworkshop.com/esp32-object-detect/ https://dronebotworkshop.com/esp32-object-detect/
NoraCodes 3y ago
Having an onboard display, CAN bus transceiver, and op amp is pretty neat. It should enable this Arduino to be the core of a lot more projects when otherwise it might make more sense to use another board or just build the whole circuit from components.
- otherme123 3y ago
  For the onboard display, you can get a ESP32 with an Oled integrated.
IshKebab 3y ago
What's the point of the RA4M1 if you already have the ESP32? Based on the data sheets the only guesses I have are that it's running at 5V (presumably because Arduino is living in the past), and that it has USB support. Either way this doesn't seem especially compelling compared to the many ESP32-C3 boards which generally have less enormous form factors and are much much cheaper.
- f_devd 3y ago
  ESP32S3 also has USB support, but 5V I/O could be the reason.
  - sheepybloke 3y ago
    It looks like they have to include a logic level shifter to talk to the ESP32, so they could use something similar for the IO.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- wmlavender 3y ago
  There are many of us that work with scientific instrumentation that has to retain compatibility with 5 volt logic levels. Many labs have equipment that is over 50 years old and which is still in use. Suppose you tell a scientist that they have to replace a working instrument built in the 1960s with a new one that costs over $250,000 only because it does not use 3.3 volt logic levels. They are going to laugh at you and say that they want to keep using the old instrument. So having cheap and easily available electronics that can still interface with 5 volts can be very useful to some of us.
  - spoiler 3y ago
    I never realised older scientific equipment even has interfaces for plugging in third party tools! I'm curious, how often do you actually have to make stuff that interfaces with older lab equipment when developing new equipment. And a follow up question would be: is this something you do in house, or do you sell this as a service/products? And if you're allowed to go into detail, can you give a high level example of this (too low level might go over my head).
Rebellos 3y ago
G f 223
sheepybloke 3y ago
It's interesting to me that they have both an ESP32 and a RA4M1 processor. Is the WiFi connectivity really that intensive that they need to have both processors? I thought that was specifically why the ESP32 was a dual core design. Is the RA4M1 connected to the IO but not the ESP32? It's interesting also that they don't call out how the ESP32 is connected to the RA4M1. Depending on what that communication path is, you could be pretty limited on the amount of data that gets sent across. Overall, interesting board but I don't understand why they have the RA4M1 and don't just use the ESP32 for everything.
- gmiller123456 3y ago
  AFAIK, the WiFi isn't all that intensive, but requires special considerations. With the ESP8266, you had to be careful to call yield() every few seconds, or the WiFi would hang. So it made it harder to write processor intensive tasks. The dual core of the ESP32 did away with that.
gmiller123456 3y ago
So, it looks like you program the RA4M1, and the ESP32 is just there for wifi (and USB interface). That seems like an incredibly odd and wasteful choice. I didn't see any explanation as to why they did it that way. I was kinda worried the interface to the ESP32 would have been like the origional ESP8266 where you used AT commands. But it looks like the Wifi library abstracts out whatever interface they're using for the ESP32, so I was at least happy to see that. Since the ESP32 handles the USB interface, it's probably possible to program both microcontrollers. I can't imagine a practical use for that, but bet it gets done pretty quick.
- polishdude20 3y ago
  What's the benefit of this RA4M1 processor over something like an Arm cortex ? I see the only thing that sticks out to me is the 24 volt tolerance?
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - monocasa 3y ago
    The RA4M1 is an ARM Cortex M4 SoC.
  - gh02t 3y ago
    The RA4M1 is an ARM Cortex core, but it could be that Renesas offered to subsidize some of the cost of the board by providing the chips with some kind of sweetheart deal. Not a bad idea if so, Renesas can generate a whole lot of interest in their platform for what is probably a rounding error in their bottom line. And they've previously invested in Arduino (https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/renesas-backs-arduino-with-10m/ https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/renesas-backs-arduino-with-1...).
    - edrxty 3y ago
      Yeah that was my thought. Renesas Isn't a big player in the uc market at all. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone using their parts.
elromulous 3y ago
It's been so frustrating that espressif offerings are basically the only wifi mcu options. Yes, there are a handful of other options, but they all fall short in one or more of cost|sdk|availability. If you're wondering why I need an espressif alternative so badly - many companies won't rely on Chinese companies for components, especially if they're not easily interchangeable. There's always the concern of a Chinese backdoor (I prefer my backdoors to be NSA backdoors), and the US is always just on the cusp of a trade war with China. Edit: typos
- colechristensen 3y ago
  Espressif being a Chinese company, sure, but how many components from an arbitrary NATO-friendly country corp but are exclusively manufactured in China anyway and get the same treatment?
  - jvanderbot 3y ago
    Logically it makes no sense. Legally and politically, it's still a concern.
- ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
  How about this one: https://wiki.makerdiary.com/nrf52840-connectkit/introduction/ https://wiki.makerdiary.com/nrf52840-connectkit/introduction... Discussed here yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36475144 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36475144 On further examination, the one thing it doesn't discuss is Wi-Fi, although it has 2.4gHz. Well, I'll leave this here in case you find it interesting.
  - mmoskal 3y ago
    NRF52 line is Bluetooth LE not WiFi.
  - nrp 3y ago
    Nordic is certainly heading this direction. They have a WiFi 6 companion chip already, and are presumably going to make a single package solution at some point: https://www.nordicsemi.com/-/media/Software-and-other-downloads/Product-Briefs/nRF7002-IC_Product-Brief-v1.0.pdf https://www.nordicsemi.com/-/media/Software-and-other-downlo...
nixpulvis 3y ago
Gotta love that mis-seated power jack on the product’s demo image.
- bschwindHN 3y ago
  Right? That was the first thing I noticed, quite sloppy.
  - teruakohatu 3y ago
    Something looked strange about the image when I first saw it, I couldn't quite place it until I was the OP's comment.
- matthewfelgate 3y ago
  I know right!
yardie 3y ago
At $27 I can get 4-5 Pi Pico Ws. Between that and the ESP32 product line this isn't really competitive. I'll probably get a few just to play around with it. I have so many hats and shields at this point it would be a waste not to update the MCU.
- hospitalJail 3y ago
  Arduino gets people into embedded. Its the brand name that uses the old name. It helps they have their own IDE and tutorials on their website. Long term, you basically stop using them. Although during COVID, I needed some high GPIO boards and there were megas in-stock.
  - knorker 3y ago
    I thought "raspberry pi" is the bigger drawing brand, and the pico is for embedded draw.
    - hospitalJail 3y ago
      Eh, as much as I like mine for being a computer, I found it unreliable for embedded. I don't think I'd introduce someone to embedded with a rpi.
- qbasic_forever 3y ago
  This thing has a big LED matrix display and flexible power input options, it's not exactly the same market as the pico or barebones ESP32 boards. This is much more similar to the microbit, circuit playground or similar getting started in physical computing boards. Out of the box you can do stuff with this board and no other real components.
- clarents 3y ago
  I think your second comment is the explanation for your first. There are certainly cheaper boards available, but the form factor of the Uno allows for use with a whole host of hats and shields, and releasing an updated board with more powerful hardware allows for more complex projects using those hats and shields.
huslage 3y ago
It feels to me like Arduino is becoming a shill for whatever processor companies want to market to people. Not that there's anything wrong with the RA4M1 or anything, but Arduino seems like they are less focused on ecosystem than they used to be.
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
  It's more that the Arduino ecosystem is now so well-supported and wide ranging that it makes sense to have the association with it. e.g., I have an STM32 Discovery board on the table next to me that has the standard Uno pinout available in case I want to use Arduino shields. For prototyping using the ecosystem is insanely fast. In many cases it also makes sense for low volume production.
- RobotToaster 3y ago
  >becoming Didn't that happen years ago when they made boards for chips from intel of all people? (Although, I'm still disappointed the edison didn't take off tbh)
  - nayuki 3y ago
    Wow, it's true. https://www.zdnet.com/article/intels-tiny-curie-chip-powers-new-arduino-board/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/intels-tiny-curie-chip-powers-...
numpad0 3y ago
There is nothing confusing here. This is Renesas desperately trying to be relevant, wasting on organizational overheads, and half-measuring as they always do.
numlock86 3y ago
An RA4M1 with an ESP32-S3 ... as the coprocessor for WiFi and BLE? Why not just do everything on the ESP32-S3? The RA4M1 seems a little unimpressive next to it. Something like an RA6M4 at least would have been cool, though: Add QSPI flash and an Ethernet phy ... Yes please! But this? Meh.
- meatmanek 3y ago
  ESP32 has several downsides I can think of: - Generally you have to run Espressif's FreeRTOS variant, which is a very different programming model from the standard microcontroller-with-interrupts model that prior Arduinos use. - ESP32 has a crappy ADC.[1] - ESP32 is a 3.3V part. Yes, you can level-shift, but Arduino GPIOs can be set into 4 states: low, high, pull-up resistor enabled, and hi-Z. Your standard bidirectional level shifter[2] is not sufficient here - those can can only drive low or pull up. 1. https://www.makerfabs.cc/article/cautions-in-using-esp32-adc.html 2. https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/173297/how-does-a-bidirectional-level-shifter-work
  - numlock86 3y ago
    > Generally you have to run Espressif's FreeRTOS variant, which is a very different programming model from the standard microcontroller-with-interrupts model that prior Arduinos use. I can tell you never bothered programming an ESP within Arduino IDE and its wrappers. You don't have any contact points with this, unless you want to. It's like with any other ATmega chip. And even if this wasn't the case, the argument would be the same on either side: Just replace Espressif's IDF with Renesas' FSP and each other's FreeRTOS port. And yes, I am aware you can program Renesas chips bare metal ... just like you can do with ESPs. uBlox is doing the latter for example for their ESP-based products, including even a custom WiFi stack. Once you do a percentage more with ESPs than just toying with their IDF and Getting Started you will start doing that too and just use the IDF for reference at best. > ESP32 has a crappy ADC. The ADC of the ESP in question (ESP-S3) is okay, others not so much.
    - meatmanek 3y ago
MarkusWandel 3y ago
If it's Wifi, chances are it'll want a web front-end. That's a pig for memory resources and can go on the ESP32 (for which the necessary software already exists), letting the other CPU to the "Arduino-ish" stuff with the I/Os. Given how much you can do with an AVR328, the low-spec core is probably plenty.
myself248 3y ago
Calling this thing UNO is a mistake. It has nothing in common with the original Uno (all three revisions) except the form factor, and that's going to confuse a lot of people.
kennywinker 3y ago
That little LED grid is super nice! I can imagine that will simplify a ton of projects - instead of having to attach an external display, or your own LED grid, you can provide basic feedback about what's going on in your device thru the built-in LED grid.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
schappim 3y ago
I find it funny that the word "open"[1] is not found on the page: https://store.arduino.cc/products/uno-r4-wifi https://store.arduino.cc/products/uno-r4-wifi The board has "Open Source is [heart]" but no OSHW logo, nor links to a repo. [1] https://files.littlebird.com.au/Shared-Image-2023-06-27-16-43-55-lK9yEk.png https://files.littlebird.com.au/Shared-Image-2023-06-27-16-4...
topspin 3y ago
Just ordered one. Love that you can power this from a wide voltage range. A project of mine will use some kind of LiPo/LFP battery and now I can just wire it directly with the DC jack. The only disappointment for me is that they've used the ESP32-S3-MINI-1 instead of the 1U. The latter has a connector for an external antenna. Have to look into whether swapping that is feasible. I suppose they could have gone with a small OLED instead of the LED matrix. The CAN bus is nice: likely lead to a bunch of ODB2 hacking.

The Arduino UNO R4 WiFi merges the RA4M1 microprocessor from Renesas with the ESP32-S3 from Espressif, creating an all-in-one tool for makers with enhanced processing power and a diverse array of new peripherals. With its built-in Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® capabilities, the UNO R4 WiFi enables makers to venture into boundless creative possibilities. Furthermore, this versatile board boasts a convenient on-board 12x8 LED matrix and a Qwiic connector, offering ample space for innovation and unleashing creativity. This dynamic combination empowers makers to transform their ideas into reality and elevate their projects to unprecedented heights.

adolph 3y ago
That is a weird combo. Up front it looks like the RA4M1 is the main compilation target and probably has all the IO. Then you have a wifi chip of a different compile target that is faster and more capable in the back. Truely this is the mullet of dev boards. RA4M1 [0] 48MHz Arm Cortex-M4F Core 256kB Flash Memory and 32kB SRAM ESP32-S3 [1] dualcore 32bit LX7, up to 240 MHz Flash up to 8 MB, optional 2 MB PSRAM in chip package 39 GPIOs, rich set of peripherals 0. https://www.mouser.com/new/renesas/renesas-ra4m1-mcu/ https://www.mouser.com/new/renesas/renesas-ra4m1-mcu/ 1. https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Espressif-Systems/ESP32-S3-MINI-1-N8 https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Espressif-Systems/ESP32...
- matthewfelgate 3y ago
  I concur. I'm not sure why not just buy a ESP32-S3 based board...
  - adolph 3y ago
    Another bad thing about the s3 is no wifi6. The c6 is the first esp with it.

no_time 3y ago

What an odd board. The ESP32-S3 is an absolute powerhouse by itself. I really don't see why would you add another (probably pricey) MCU to serve as the master.

NoraCodes 3y ago
Honestly, I think it's a good choice; I can absolutely see folks running a small web server or something on the ESP32 and putting their realtime code on the main MCU, for instance.
- hoosieree 3y ago
  When I did electronics for a psychology department, nearly everything had to have both hard real-time sensing and be plug-and-play with Windows and MacOS. We ended up using a lot of Arduinos, but having a webserver on board would have been so much nicer than serial over USB, or transferring from SD cards.
- teraflop 3y ago
  But the ESP32-S3 is already a dual-core processor.
- sheepybloke 3y ago
  I think this depends on how the ICs are connected. If it's running something like I2C between them, then your data transfer rates will be too low and you'll be quite limited in some of the applications.
jareklupinski 3y ago
yea I go for the S3 when I need networking on one core while still running realtime applications on the other core, but it's the priciest one i would have probably paired a lower cost -C family (maybe the RISC one for extra nerd cred) with the arduino, since those have only one core, which would have made for a good split maybe i'll think of a three-core micro project :)
adolph 3y ago
It is a beast. Here is an example of object detection using the old ESP32: ESP32-CAM Object Detection with Edge Impulse https://dronebotworkshop.com/esp32-object-detect/ https://dronebotworkshop.com/esp32-object-detect/

NoraCodes 3y ago

Having an onboard display, CAN bus transceiver, and op amp is pretty neat. It should enable this Arduino to be the core of a lot more projects when otherwise it might make more sense to use another board or just build the whole circuit from components.

otherme123 3y ago
For the onboard display, you can get a ESP32 with an Oled integrated.

IshKebab 3y ago

What's the point of the RA4M1 if you already have the ESP32? Based on the data sheets the only guesses I have are that it's running at 5V (presumably because Arduino is living in the past), and that it has USB support. Either way this doesn't seem especially compelling compared to the many ESP32-C3 boards which generally have less enormous form factors and are much much cheaper.

f_devd 3y ago
ESP32S3 also has USB support, but 5V I/O could be the reason.
- sheepybloke 3y ago
  It looks like they have to include a logic level shifter to talk to the ESP32, so they could use something similar for the IO.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
wmlavender 3y ago
There are many of us that work with scientific instrumentation that has to retain compatibility with 5 volt logic levels. Many labs have equipment that is over 50 years old and which is still in use. Suppose you tell a scientist that they have to replace a working instrument built in the 1960s with a new one that costs over $250,000 only because it does not use 3.3 volt logic levels. They are going to laugh at you and say that they want to keep using the old instrument. So having cheap and easily available electronics that can still interface with 5 volts can be very useful to some of us.
- spoiler 3y ago
  I never realised older scientific equipment even has interfaces for plugging in third party tools! I'm curious, how often do you actually have to make stuff that interfaces with older lab equipment when developing new equipment. And a follow up question would be: is this something you do in house, or do you sell this as a service/products? And if you're allowed to go into detail, can you give a high level example of this (too low level might go over my head).

Rebellos 3y ago

G f 223

sheepybloke 3y ago

It's interesting to me that they have both an ESP32 and a RA4M1 processor. Is the WiFi connectivity really that intensive that they need to have both processors? I thought that was specifically why the ESP32 was a dual core design. Is the RA4M1 connected to the IO but not the ESP32? It's interesting also that they don't call out how the ESP32 is connected to the RA4M1. Depending on what that communication path is, you could be pretty limited on the amount of data that gets sent across. Overall, interesting board but I don't understand why they have the RA4M1 and don't just use the ESP32 for everything.

gmiller123456 3y ago
AFAIK, the WiFi isn't all that intensive, but requires special considerations. With the ESP8266, you had to be careful to call yield() every few seconds, or the WiFi would hang. So it made it harder to write processor intensive tasks. The dual core of the ESP32 did away with that.

gmiller123456 3y ago

So, it looks like you program the RA4M1, and the ESP32 is just there for wifi (and USB interface). That seems like an incredibly odd and wasteful choice. I didn't see any explanation as to why they did it that way. I was kinda worried the interface to the ESP32 would have been like the origional ESP8266 where you used AT commands. But it looks like the Wifi library abstracts out whatever interface they're using for the ESP32, so I was at least happy to see that. Since the ESP32 handles the USB interface, it's probably possible to program both microcontrollers. I can't imagine a practical use for that, but bet it gets done pretty quick.

polishdude20 3y ago
What's the benefit of this RA4M1 processor over something like an Arm cortex ? I see the only thing that sticks out to me is the 24 volt tolerance?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- monocasa 3y ago
  The RA4M1 is an ARM Cortex M4 SoC.
- gh02t 3y ago
  The RA4M1 is an ARM Cortex core, but it could be that Renesas offered to subsidize some of the cost of the board by providing the chips with some kind of sweetheart deal. Not a bad idea if so, Renesas can generate a whole lot of interest in their platform for what is probably a rounding error in their bottom line. And they've previously invested in Arduino (https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/renesas-backs-arduino-with-10m/ https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/renesas-backs-arduino-with-1...).
  - edrxty 3y ago
    Yeah that was my thought. Renesas Isn't a big player in the uc market at all. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone using their parts.

elromulous 3y ago

It's been so frustrating that espressif offerings are basically the only wifi mcu options. Yes, there are a handful of other options, but they all fall short in one or more of cost|sdk|availability. If you're wondering why I need an espressif alternative so badly - many companies won't rely on Chinese companies for components, especially if they're not easily interchangeable. There's always the concern of a Chinese backdoor (I prefer my backdoors to be NSA backdoors), and the US is always just on the cusp of a trade war with China. Edit: typos

colechristensen 3y ago
Espressif being a Chinese company, sure, but how many components from an arbitrary NATO-friendly country corp but are exclusively manufactured in China anyway and get the same treatment?
- jvanderbot 3y ago
  Logically it makes no sense. Legally and politically, it's still a concern.
ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
How about this one: https://wiki.makerdiary.com/nrf52840-connectkit/introduction/ https://wiki.makerdiary.com/nrf52840-connectkit/introduction... Discussed here yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36475144 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36475144 On further examination, the one thing it doesn't discuss is Wi-Fi, although it has 2.4gHz. Well, I'll leave this here in case you find it interesting.
- mmoskal 3y ago
  NRF52 line is Bluetooth LE not WiFi.
- nrp 3y ago
  Nordic is certainly heading this direction. They have a WiFi 6 companion chip already, and are presumably going to make a single package solution at some point: https://www.nordicsemi.com/-/media/Software-and-other-downloads/Product-Briefs/nRF7002-IC_Product-Brief-v1.0.pdf https://www.nordicsemi.com/-/media/Software-and-other-downlo...

nixpulvis 3y ago

Gotta love that mis-seated power jack on the product’s demo image.

bschwindHN 3y ago
Right? That was the first thing I noticed, quite sloppy.
- teruakohatu 3y ago
  Something looked strange about the image when I first saw it, I couldn't quite place it until I was the OP's comment.
matthewfelgate 3y ago
I know right!

yardie 3y ago

At $27 I can get 4-5 Pi Pico Ws. Between that and the ESP32 product line this isn't really competitive. I'll probably get a few just to play around with it. I have so many hats and shields at this point it would be a waste not to update the MCU.

hospitalJail 3y ago
Arduino gets people into embedded. Its the brand name that uses the old name. It helps they have their own IDE and tutorials on their website. Long term, you basically stop using them. Although during COVID, I needed some high GPIO boards and there were megas in-stock.
- knorker 3y ago
  I thought "raspberry pi" is the bigger drawing brand, and the pico is for embedded draw.
  - hospitalJail 3y ago
    Eh, as much as I like mine for being a computer, I found it unreliable for embedded. I don't think I'd introduce someone to embedded with a rpi.
qbasic_forever 3y ago
This thing has a big LED matrix display and flexible power input options, it's not exactly the same market as the pico or barebones ESP32 boards. This is much more similar to the microbit, circuit playground or similar getting started in physical computing boards. Out of the box you can do stuff with this board and no other real components.
clarents 3y ago
I think your second comment is the explanation for your first. There are certainly cheaper boards available, but the form factor of the Uno allows for use with a whole host of hats and shields, and releasing an updated board with more powerful hardware allows for more complex projects using those hats and shields.

huslage 3y ago

It feels to me like Arduino is becoming a shill for whatever processor companies want to market to people. Not that there's anything wrong with the RA4M1 or anything, but Arduino seems like they are less focused on ecosystem than they used to be.

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
It's more that the Arduino ecosystem is now so well-supported and wide ranging that it makes sense to have the association with it. e.g., I have an STM32 Discovery board on the table next to me that has the standard Uno pinout available in case I want to use Arduino shields. For prototyping using the ecosystem is insanely fast. In many cases it also makes sense for low volume production.
RobotToaster 3y ago
>becoming Didn't that happen years ago when they made boards for chips from intel of all people? (Although, I'm still disappointed the edison didn't take off tbh)
- nayuki 3y ago
  Wow, it's true. https://www.zdnet.com/article/intels-tiny-curie-chip-powers-new-arduino-board/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/intels-tiny-curie-chip-powers-...

numpad0 3y ago

There is nothing confusing here. This is Renesas desperately trying to be relevant, wasting on organizational overheads, and half-measuring as they always do.

numlock86 3y ago

An RA4M1 with an ESP32-S3 ... as the coprocessor for WiFi and BLE? Why not just do everything on the ESP32-S3? The RA4M1 seems a little unimpressive next to it. Something like an RA6M4 at least would have been cool, though: Add QSPI flash and an Ethernet phy ... Yes please! But this? Meh.

meatmanek 3y ago
ESP32 has several downsides I can think of: - Generally you have to run Espressif's FreeRTOS variant, which is a very different programming model from the standard microcontroller-with-interrupts model that prior Arduinos use. - ESP32 has a crappy ADC.[1] - ESP32 is a 3.3V part. Yes, you can level-shift, but Arduino GPIOs can be set into 4 states: low, high, pull-up resistor enabled, and hi-Z. Your standard bidirectional level shifter[2] is not sufficient here - those can can only drive low or pull up. 1. https://www.makerfabs.cc/article/cautions-in-using-esp32-adc.html 2. https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/173297/how-does-a-bidirectional-level-shifter-work
- numlock86 3y ago
  > Generally you have to run Espressif's FreeRTOS variant, which is a very different programming model from the standard microcontroller-with-interrupts model that prior Arduinos use. I can tell you never bothered programming an ESP within Arduino IDE and its wrappers. You don't have any contact points with this, unless you want to. It's like with any other ATmega chip. And even if this wasn't the case, the argument would be the same on either side: Just replace Espressif's IDF with Renesas' FSP and each other's FreeRTOS port. And yes, I am aware you can program Renesas chips bare metal ... just like you can do with ESPs. uBlox is doing the latter for example for their ESP-based products, including even a custom WiFi stack. Once you do a percentage more with ESPs than just toying with their IDF and Getting Started you will start doing that too and just use the IDF for reference at best. > ESP32 has a crappy ADC. The ADC of the ESP in question (ESP-S3) is okay, others not so much.
  - meatmanek 3y ago

MarkusWandel 3y ago

If it's Wifi, chances are it'll want a web front-end. That's a pig for memory resources and can go on the ESP32 (for which the necessary software already exists), letting the other CPU to the "Arduino-ish" stuff with the I/Os. Given how much you can do with an AVR328, the low-spec core is probably plenty.

myself248 3y ago

Calling this thing UNO is a mistake. It has nothing in common with the original Uno (all three revisions) except the form factor, and that's going to confuse a lot of people.

kennywinker 3y ago

That little LED grid is super nice! I can imagine that will simplify a ton of projects - instead of having to attach an external display, or your own LED grid, you can provide basic feedback about what's going on in your device thru the built-in LED grid.

deleted 3y ago

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schappim 3y ago

I find it funny that the word "open"[1] is not found on the page: https://store.arduino.cc/products/uno-r4-wifi https://store.arduino.cc/products/uno-r4-wifi The board has "Open Source is [heart]" but no OSHW logo, nor links to a repo. [1] https://files.littlebird.com.au/Shared-Image-2023-06-27-16-43-55-lK9yEk.png https://files.littlebird.com.au/Shared-Image-2023-06-27-16-4...

topspin 3y ago

Just ordered one. Love that you can power this from a wide voltage range. A project of mine will use some kind of LiPo/LFP battery and now I can just wire it directly with the DC jack. The only disappointment for me is that they've used the ESP32-S3-MINI-1 instead of the 1U. The latter has a connector for an external antenna. Have to look into whether swapping that is feasible. I suppose they could have gone with a small OLED instead of the LED matrix. The CAN bus is nice: likely lead to a bunch of ODB2 hacking.