Renesas 365

Renesas 365, powered by Altium, is built on the Altium 365 platform and developed for electronics system design. It liberates engineers by unifying development workflows to improve efficiency and accelerate design cycles from concept to volume production.

The main, high-level entity in Renesas 365 is a Solution that unifies different aspects of the system that you create – system design, software projects, hardware projects, etc.

A fundamental element of a solution is the System Design Model (SDM) – a single, cohesive high-level model that sits central to the solution definition process and shapes the system's architecture. Data within the model can be accessed and manipulated by the various means provided by Renesas 365. The SDM is structured to accommodate all information from all aspects of the solution and encapsulates its elements and relationships between them to define the system as a whole. Push and pull process are used to send (upload) changes from a project to the SDM and get (download) changes made in SDM to integrate them to a project, respectively.   

For an overview information about Renesas 365 and creating a new Renesas 365 Workspace, refer to the renesas.com Renesas 365 page.

Accessing a Renesas 365 Workspace

Your Renesas 365 Workspace is a dedicated environment for hosting and managing your solutions and related content. The browser-based interface to a Renesas 365 Workspace is presented as a constituent part within the overall Altium 365 Platform Interface. Once your Renesas 365 Workspace is created, you can access its interface in a number of ways. Refer to the Altium Platform Interface page for more details.

Exploring the Browser-based Interface

The elements of your Renesas 365 Workspace's browser interface can be accessed using controls in the left-hand side toolbar shown in the following image and described thereafter.

• Home – this page provides controls to create a new solution and also provides access to solutions that are currently available in your Renesas 365 Workspace.

  For more information about creating a new solution, refer to the Creating a New Solution section below.

  For more information about exploring a solution, refer to the Exploring a Solution section below.

• Tasks – this page allows you to access and manage all tasks that are currently active in your Renesas 365 Workspace.

  For more information about working with tasks, refer to the Working with Tasks section below.

• Members – this page allows you to manage who has access to the Renesas 365 Workspace.

  For more information about managing Workspace membership, refer to the Managing Workspace Membership section below.

• Repositories – this page allows you to configure access to external software repositories.

  For more information about working with repositories, refer to the Working with Repositories section below.

Creating a New Solution

Renesas 365 browser interface provides means to create a new solution.

A blank new solution can be created from the Home page as follows:

• By clicking the Show More control in the Get Started With Renesas 365 region and then clicking the  button in the Create a New Solution Fast region that appears (if there are solutions in the Workspace, click the Show More control first to expand the Get Started With Renesas 365 region).

  

  A new solution (named New Solution) will be created immediately. Also, a new ESD document linked to this solution will be automatically created and opened. 

• By clicking the  button in the Solutions region. The Add solution window will open.

  

  The window will present with the following fields:

  • Name – enter the required name for the solution.

  • Description – enter an optional description for the solution.

  • Folder (use the  button to hide and display this field) – use this field to specify where the solution is to be created within the Workspace's folder structure. By default, this is the Projects folder. Click the Change link at the right of the field to access the Workspace's folder structure, from which to select an alternate folder to store the solution ().

  After defining the new solution as required, click the  button. A new solution will be created, and its detailed page will open.

Once a solution is created, new projects can be created as part of it or existing projects can be linked to it. For more information, refer to the Exploring a Solution section below.

Opening an Example Solution

A number of example solutions are provided. On the Home page, click the  button in the Get Started With Renesas 365 region to open the Explore Ready-to-Run Solutions page (if there are solutions in the Workspace, click the Show More control first to expand the Get Started With Renesas 365 region).

In the RA Examples Explorer region of the Explore Ready-to-Run Solutions page, you can also search for a solution by a software project or eval kit. Select the required software project / eval kit on the left-hand side of the page, then select a compatible eval kit / software project on the right-hand side and click the  button to create a corresponding solution in your Renesas 365 Workspace.

Exploring a Solution

All solutions that currently exist in your Renesas 365 Workspace are presented in the Solutions region of the Home page. Each solution is presented as a tile, with icons representing the solution's constituent projects (system design, PCB projects, etc.).

The detailed page of a solution can be accessed by clicking the  control in the tile of the required solution on the Home page of your Renesas 365 Workspace and selecting Open from the menu that appears. Alternatively, click the name of the required solution. The detailed page will present basic information about the solution (name, description, and the numbers of projects of each type), with its constituent projects listed below.

The name and description of the solution can be changed by clicking the  icon at the top of the page and selecting Edit from the menu that appears. In the Edit solution window that opens, make the required changes and click the  button.

A solution can include the following projects:

• System Design – an Electronic System Design (ESD) document that visualizes a high-level overview of the solution's architecture and its primary projects.

  For more information about working an ESD documents, refer to the Electronic System Design page.

• PCB Project – a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) project that represents a hardware part of the solution.

• Software Project – a software project that represents a software part of the solution. A software project is defined using a built-in Web IDE based on Theia Framework or e² studio.

  For more information about using Eclipse Theia IDE, refer to the Theia IDE documentation.

• AI – an AI model that allows to process and interpret the data from the solution for embedded use in smart products.

A new project (system design, PCB, or software project) can be created as part of a solution or a project already existing in your Renesas 365 Workspace can be linked to it.

• To create a new project, click the  button at the top right and select the required type from the Create section of the menu that appears.

  

  Once a project is created, it will be automatically linked to the solution, and its tile will appear on the solution's page.

• Alternatively, select Reference Design or Software Project from the Import section of the  button menu to add a PCB or software project, respectively, to the solution.

  • When the Reference Design option is selected, the Importing a Reference Design window opens. Select a design in the list on the left-hand side of the to show its details in the right-hand side of the dialog. Once the required design is selected, click the button in the  window.

  • When the Software Project option is selected, the Importing a Software Project window opens. Select the required software project on the left-hand side of the window, then select a compatible eval kit on the right-hand side of the window.  Once the required project and eval kit are selected, click the button in the  window. 

  

  

   

  The selected project will be imported to your Renesas 365 Workspace and automatically linked to the solution, and its tile will appear on the solution's page.

• To link an existing project, click the  icon at the top of the page and select Link Projects from the menu that appears. Use the Select projects that will be linked to Solution window that opens to browse the folder structure of your Renesas 365 Workspace and select the required projects using checkboxes at the left. Once the projects are selected, click the  button.

  

  • The projects currently linked to the solution are also listed at the bottom of the Select projects that will be linked to Solution window. You can quickly unlink a project by clicking the  icon at the right of its entry.

  • A project can also be unlinked from the solutions page by clicking the  icon within the project's tile and selecting Unlink from the menu that appears ().

  • The Select projects that will be linked to Solution window for a solution can also be accessed from the Home page by clicking  the  control in the solution's tile and selecting Link Projects from the menu that appears.

Opening a Project

To open an existing project linked to the solution,  click the  icon within the project's tile and select the Open entry on the associated menu.

Alternatively, double-click directly on the required project tile or click the name of the project. A new browser tab will open presenting the project in the corresponding editor or viewer:

• System Design – will open in the Electronic System Design editor.

• PCB project – will open in its detailed management page.

• Software project – will open in the built-in Web IDE.

Editing a Project

To edit the properties of an existing project linked to the solution, click the  icon within the project's tile and select the Edit entry on the associated menu. In the following Edit Project window – which opens in simplified view – you can change the project's Name and Description.

Click the  button to access the Edit Project window's additional fields:

• Parent Folder – a read-only filed that shows where the project resides within the Workspace's folder structure.

• Parameters – in this region, you can manage parameters for the project. Parameter Name/Value pairs can be added (), edited (in-line editing), or removed ().

Click the  button to confirm any changes you have made.

Linking an Evaluation Kit

When accessing a solution generated from an Octopart example solution, the linked evaluation kit will be shown at the top right of the solution's detailed page, in the Eval Kit Linked region that shows a preview image of the kit, its name and description, and also its connection state.

To allow the browser where your Renesas 365 Workspace is opened to work with the eval kit, click the  button when the eval kit is connected to your computer, select J-Link in the browser pop-up that appears, and then click the Connect button. When the connection is allowed and the kit is connected to the computer, the connection state indicator at the right of the kit name changes to a green dot.

To select another eval kit, click the  button, use the Select Evaluation Kit window that opens to choose another applicable kit from the list, and click .

Working with Tasks

The Tasks page of your Renesas 365 Workspace's browser interface allows you to access and manage all tasks – job activity requests – that are currently active in the Renesas 365 Workspace. Tasks are presented in a Kanban board flow style, with their progress state (To Do, In Progress, and Resolved) moving through task rows. One row is reserved for general tasks (those not associated with a project), and each remaining row applies to tasks for a specific project (PCB projects and ESD documents).

• General tasks are created from within the page by clicking the  button at the top right of the page. Assign a task to a particular user or given a different priority through the Task details pane. These tasks are not associated with a specific project.

• Project-specific tasks are created by assigning a Workspace member to a project comment.

  Tasks specific to a PCB project include a row of general tasks that are associated with the project itself and collapsible rows of tasks that apply to specific project documents. For more information about working tasks specific to PCB projects, refer to the Working with Tasks page.

  Tasks specific to an ESD document are associated with the document and created by assigning a project document comment to a Workspace member. For more information about commenting in ESD documents, refer to the Electronic System Design page.

Managing Workspace Membership

User management for a Renesas 365 Workspace is performed by an administrator through the Members page of that Workspace's browser interface. This page is used to create and manage a list of Workspace users – people who are members of the Workspace and have access to the Workspace and/or its associated technologies.

The tab options at the top of the page allow administrators to view all users with access to the Workspace, and manage any users requesting access to the Workspace:

• Members – all users with member access to the Workspace. The Members tab is the only view available to Workspace members not in the Administrator group. Administrators (only) can use an entry's  option to remove a user from the Workspace.

• Guests – users who are external to the Workspace (non-members) that have been granted shared access to an ESD document within the Workspace (learn more). Such users are indicated by an associated icon.

• Join Requests – request submissions by users who are seeking access to the company Workspace.

• Invitation Requests – request submissions by members of the Workspace for allowing access to the Workspace by another user, or users.

Working with Repositories

A software project can be created in your Renesas 365 Workspace using the external repository type. In this case, the external repository will be listed on the Repositories page of the Workspace, and you can manage connections to such repositories from this page.

For a repository that has the  status, click the  button at the right to connect to an organization/account or set credentials for this specific repository. Once credentials are set for a repository, its status changes to . Use  the  button menu to update or remove credentials for such repository.

If a GitHub organization/account has been connected, its entry will be shown under the Connected GitHub Organizations / Accounts heading of the page. Use available controls to disconnect the account or configure the connection. Repositories connected by virtue of connection to an account/organization have the  status.