The new firmware extensions make it possible to accelerate the time-critical IDCT algorithms needed to decode JPEG images. The performance increase compared to MCUs without Helium is typically a factor of 3 times. When running on the RA8D1 at full speed, a JPEG decode can be reduced from 12 ms to 4 ms. When integrated with the SEGGER emWin graphics libraries, this means it is possible to achieve an excellent 40 frames per second (fps) decode on an 800 × 480 JPEG image.

“We were happy to be able to partner with Renesas to utilize the Arm Helium extension in the RA8D1 to deliver such high-performance graphics solutions,” says Rolf Segger, founder of SEGGER. “The Helium extension is perfect to accelerate the IDCT processing and largely removes the need for special hardware JPEG decoders.”

“Having a partner like SEGGER to help us unlock the full graphics potential of the RA8D1 is essential,” says Daryl Khoo, Vice President of the IoT Platform Division at Renesas. “The fact we have these firmware enhancements available from day one means we can confidently release the RA8D1 knowing we have a market-leading solution.”

SEGGER's complete RA development tool suite includes ultra-fast debugging with the J-Link family of debug probes, the Embedded Studio IDE, including GCC and SEGGER compilers, the full-featured Ozone graphical debugger, SystemView (real-time recording and visualization tool), and middleware extension solutions such as cycle-accurate embOS-Ultra and emWin GUI. SEGGER complements the development cycle with the Flasher series of production programmers to provide end-to-end support for the entire RA series of MCUs.