Azure RTOS Expands Across Major Embedded Platforms with New Development Kits

Renesas, NXP, Microchip, Qualcomm, and STMicroelectronics are broadening their support for Microsoft Azure RTOS, making it simpler for engineers to blend their chips with Azure’s real‑time operating system. The Azure RTOS Embedded Application Suite delivers instant visibility into device operations, assets, and product performance, while a rich set of IoT building blocks streamlines chip‑to‑cloud development.

All five partners will ship embedded development kits that include Azure RTOS ThreadX, a core component of the RTOS suite. These kits give developers the low‑latency performance required by resource‑constrained devices and seamless integration with Azure IoT services for device connection, monitoring, and control.

Microsoft will publish the complete source code for every Azure RTOS component on GitHub, enabling developers to build, test, and tailor the OS for their specific applications. Deploying on any supported MCU from Microchip, NXP, Qualcomm, Renesas, or STMicroelectronics automatically embeds a production‑ready license, yet developers remain free to choose alternate hardware for production deployments.

In addition, the collaborations will provide reference projects and templates that connect directly to Azure IoT Hub, Azure IoT Central, Azure IoT Edge Gateways, and integrate with Azure Security Center. The Azure Security Center module for IoT device monitoring will arrive shortly alongside Azure RTOS.

Below are a few of the newest embedded development kits now on the market.

Renesas
Renesas has introduced a device‑to‑cloud solution that pairs its Synergy and RX microcontrollers with Azure RTOS and a suite of IoT building blocks. The Renesas Synergy AE‑Cloud2 Kit, featuring Azure support, will be available online through Renesas and Microsoft in Q2 2020, followed by the Renesas RX65N Wi‑Fi Cloud Kit later in the year. In October 2019, Renesas expanded Azure RTOS integration to its broader RA, RX MCU, and RZ/A MPU families, coupling them with Azure IoT device SDK for C, IoT Plug and Play, IoT Central, and IoT Hub for a complete chip‑to‑cloud solution. Azure RTOS is embedded within the Synergy software package, providing out‑of‑the‑box connectivity to Azure IoT Hub.

NXP Semiconductors
NXP’s partnership with Microsoft now covers a wider range of its EdgeVerse portfolio. Many of NXP’s low‑power, secure 32‑bit LPC and i.MX RT crossover microcontrollers already support Azure RTOS. The expansion allows developers using the MCUXpresso IDE and tools to access Azure RTOS directly from the software development kit (SDK).

NXP’s developer community can now access Azure RTOS from within the MCUXpresso SDK. (Image: NXP)

NXP emphasizes that this turnkey integration shortens the development cycle by simplifying processor selection, secure edge device deployment, local network construction, and cloud connectivity.

STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics offers the SensorTile.box, an all‑in‑one wireless IoT and wearable sensor platform kit that caters to anyone from students and makers to seasoned designers. The module includes a certified, out‑of‑the‑box connection to Azure IoT Central, streamlining data capture and analysis for both novices and IoT professionals.

Microchip Technology
Microchip provides a range of cloud‑agnostic, full‑stack embedded development solutions that support all its MCUs and MPUs. The upcoming Azure IoT SAM MCU‑based platform integrates the Azure IoT device SDK and Azure IoT services with Microchip’s MPLAB X development tools ecosystem, expected to launch in Q2 2020.