As voice interaction, on-device AI inference, display-enabled devices, and multi-protocol integration become essential, IoT devices are rapidly evolving from connectivity endpoints into intelligent edge nodes.

However, development teams often face two difficult choices:

Traditional RTOS-based solutions:struggle to support complex applications, requiring separate adaptation of task isolation, file systems, network protocols, and graphics frameworks
Linux host processors with external modules:introduce challenges in system integration, inter-chip communication, and RF debugging

The answer lies in deep hardware-software integration. Based on the Ameba Wi-Fi SoC platform, Realtek provides a co-designed embedded Linux solution built around a heterogeneous Linux platform on a single chip.

Ameba Linux Solution Architecture

The Ameba Linux solution uses a layered architecture that organizes hardware resources, operating system capabilities, common software services, and customer applications into a complete software stack. The Linux SDK spans the stack, providing hardware adaptation below and standard interfaces for application development above.

This layered architecture decouples hardware and software while significantly improving development efficiency. Developers can focus on applications through standard APIs without managing low-level register settings or timing parameters.

The Ameba Linux solution delivers more than a chip: it provides an end-to-end solution spanning hardware, system software, and application development, from prototype validation through mass production.

Software Core: Full-Stack Linux SDK

The Linux SDK provides a full-stack software development environment based on standard Linux. It packages the hardware adaptation, system build tools, functional components, and supporting resources required for Linux development—from kernel drivers and application frameworks to build systems and security modules—into a ready-to-use development framework.

It also provides production flashing, OTA updates, and online documentation, covering the complete workflow from development and validation to production maintenance.

01 Native Linux Foundation

The Linux kernel and Yocto build system support the complete workflow from hardware adaptation to firmware generation, enabling reproducible builds.

Kernel support:based onLinux 6.6 LTS kernel, inheriting upstream performance optimizations and security patches. Long-term maintenance of the kernel and solution ensures stability and security throughout the product lifecycle.Long-term maintenance,ensures stability and security throughout the product lifecycle.
Yocto build system:provides a deeply optimized BSP (Board Support Package) based on the Yocto Project, supporting system customization, on-demand trimming, and package extension to improve development efficiency.

02 Standard Linux Software Ecosystem

A key advantage of the Ameba Linux solution is its ability to leverage the standard Linux ecosystem. All modules follow standard Linux frameworks and are ready to use out of the box.

Wireless subsystem: Native support for the standard Linux Wi-Fi subsystem (cfg80211) and Bluetooth protocol stack (BlueZ), with deep integration of next-generation IoT protocols such as Matter and OpenThread. Features including Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Aware, and BLE Audio are ready to use, enabling seamless integration with mainstream smart home and industrial IoT ecosystems.
Graphics and display: A complete Linux-standard graphics stack, from DRM/KMS display drivers to the LVGL GUI framework, with support for mainstream frameworks such as Qt and direct adaptation for display-enabled devices.
Multimedia: Integration of GStreamer, FFmpeg, and mainstream audio frameworks simplifies the development of applications for audio/video playback, streaming, and real-time processing.
AI voice: A proprietary offline AI voice solution based on TensorFlow Lite Micro, combined with acoustic front end (AFE) processing, keyword spotting (KWS), voice activity detection (VAD), and offline automatic speech recognition (ASR), enables responsive local voice interaction without network connectivity.

03 End-to-End Defense-in-Depth Security

The Ameba Linux solution provides end-to-end protection from hardware to software, helping IoT devices remain resilient against network attacks.

Hardware root of trust:Security data, including device-unique keys and device IDs, is embedded in the chip as the foundation of the chain of trust, with hardware mechanisms preventing tampering with critical data.
Secure Boot:After power-on, U-Boot, the Linux kernel, and the root file system image are verified in sequence, ensuring that only authenticated firmware runs from the start of the boot process.
Runtime isolation: Arm TrustZone® hardware isolation separates the Linux application environment from the trusted execution environment (TEE). Even if the Linux application environment is compromised, the trusted environment continues to provide hardware-backed protection for critical security services, keys, and security data.
Hardware cryptographic engine:Support for public-key cryptography, including RSA, ECDSA, and EdDSA, as well as symmetric encryption and hashing algorithms such as AES and SHA, provides hardware acceleration for authentication, data protection, and secure communications.
Continuous security maintenance:Secure OTA updates, version rollback, and ongoing vulnerability remediation help maintain the integrity of the chain of trust after deployment.

🔔 Security certifications: The Ameba SoC has obtained both PSA Level One and PSA API Compliance globally recognized security certifications, meeting industrial- and even financial-grade security requirements.

Hardware Foundation: Ameba SoC Platform

Taking the RTL8730E as an example, the Ameba SoC platform uses a heterogeneous multi-core architecture with 256 MB of DDR3L at 533 MHz and 256 MB of NAND flash, providing ample memory and storage for the Linux kernel, file system, and complex applications.

👉 Coming soon:The DDR-based Ameba Linux solution is already in mass production. To address lightweight IoT use cases, Realtek is optimizing and trimming the Linux system and will soon introduce a PSRAM-based Linux solution.

01 Single-Chip Heterogeneous Multi-Core Architecture

The Ameba SoC platform integrates heterogeneous cores on a single chip. Through dedicated functions and hardware-level coordination, the cores balance high performance, real-time operation, and low power consumption.

Arm Cortex-A application cores (dual-core at 1.2 GHz):High-performance cores that provide substantial computing capacity for demanding workloads such as complex applications, high-definition HMI rendering, local AI inference, and multimedia processing.
Arm Cortex-M network core:An independent communication core that handles low-level wireless protocol processing and real-time tasks at the hardware level. Physical isolation from the application cores prevents wireless connectivity variability from affecting application execution.
Dedicated low-power core:Designed for low-power applications, it independently processes sensor data and manages device status while the main cores are asleep, enabling ultra-low-power standby operation.

02 Wireless Connectivity

The Ameba SoC integrates high-performance wireless RF hardware with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and dual-mode Bluetooth, delivering high-speed, stable, and low-latency connectivity for IoT devices at the physical layer.

Dual-band Wi-Fi 6:Supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards for high-definition video streaming and low-latency applications.
Dual-mode Bluetooth:Supports Bluetooth Classic (BR/EDR) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), with LE Audio, Auracast broadcast audio, LE 2M high-speed mode, and LE Long Range mode for improved audio quality and connection stability.
Independent antenna design:Wi-Fi and Bluetooth use independent RF paths and antennas, eliminating signal interference at the physical layer. High-speed Wi-Fi data transfer and Bluetooth audio can operate concurrently without affecting each other.

🔔 Compliance certifications: The solution has passed globally recognized Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG BQB certifications, ensuring compatibility, security, and regulatory compliance for commercial deployment worldwide.

03 Rich Peripheral Interfaces

The Ameba SoC provides a rich set of peripheral interfaces with comprehensive Linux kernel driver support for applications ranging from consumer electronics to industrial control.

Display interfaces: Supports MIPI-DSI, RGB, QSPI, and other display interfaces for devices ranging from simple LCDs to high-definition touchscreens.
Audio interfaces: Provides I2S and PDM interfaces, supports multiple digital and analog microphone inputs, and integrates an audio codec to support high-quality audio applications.
Storage and expansion interfaces: Supports USB 2.0 Host/Device and SDIO Host modes for SD cards, external storage, cameras, HID devices, and other peripherals.
Control interfaces: Supports PWM, ADC, and infrared transmit/receive functions for consumer electronics and device control applications.
General-purpose interfaces: Supports GPIO, UART, SPI, and I2C interfaces for connecting sensors and other external devices.
Debug interfaces: Provides SWD debugging and UART/USB flashing interfaces with authenticated debug access, covering the complete workflow from kernel development to production-line flashing for reliable mass production.

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