Quick Start
Overview
The Ameba development platform provides an out-of-the-box development experience, complete with a full SDK, rich sample code, and a comprehensive development ecosystem, empowering developers to efficiently realize product prototyping and mass production deployment.
This section introduces how to set up the software environment for Ameba hardware development, covering the complete development workflow including SDK acquisition, development environment configuration, project compilation, firmware flashing, and serial log monitoring, helping developers quickly navigate every stage from environment preparation to firmware execution.
Prerequisites
Hardware Requirements
Development Host: Windows 10/11 or Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+)
Disk Space: At least 5 GB
Ameba Development Board: Target hardware platform (specify model). Used for application development, firmware flashing, and functionality verification
USB Cable: Type-C interface for connecting the development host to the development board
Software Requirements
Git: Version 2.0 or later. Used for cloning the SDK and managing versions
SDK: Ameba FreeRTOS Software Development Kit, providing peripheral drivers, library files, build scripts, and developer tools
Text Editor: Code editors such as VS Code
USB Driver: USB to serial port driver (if required)
Hardware Guide
The following figure shows how to connect an Ameba development board to a development host. After writing and compiling the code on the development host, the compiled firmware can be downloaded to the Ameba development board via a USB Type-C cable, and the program running status can be monitored through the serial communication tool.
Hardware Connection Diagram
For instructions on operating the Ameba EVB, please view the official tutorial video titled: Ameba SoC EVB Usage .
For comprehensive, model-specific documentation, please visit: EVB User Guide .
Environment Setup
Please refer to the corresponding environment configuration guide based on the chip model to complete the toolchain installation and other setup.
The chip integrates an independent Cadence HiFi5 DSP core, designed for efficient processing of compute-intensive tasks such as audio algorithms, speech recognition, and AI inference.
SDK Development Environment Setup (Required) : Regardless of whether DSP development is involved, the MCU development environment is always required. The MCU firmware handles system initialization, loading the DSP firmware into memory, hardware resource management, and ultimately generates the complete flashable firmware.
DSP Development Environment Setup (Optional) : Used for developing signal processing algorithm firmware running on the DSP core, compiled and debugged based on Cadence Xtensa Xplorer IDE.
Whether DSP Environment Setup is Needed:
Required : When you need to develop or modify DSP algorithm firmware.
Not Required : When using only MCU functionality, or using pre-compiled DSP firmware libraries.
The chip integrates an independent Cadence HiFi5 DSP core, designed for efficient processing of compute-intensive tasks such as audio algorithms, speech recognition, and AI inference.
SDK Development Environment Setup (Required) : Regardless of whether DSP development is involved, the MCU development environment is always required. The MCU firmware handles system initialization, loading the DSP firmware into memory, hardware resource management, and ultimately generates the complete flashable firmware.
DSP Development Environment Setup (Optional) : Used for developing signal processing algorithm firmware running on the DSP core, compiled and debugged based on Cadence Xtensa Xplorer IDE.
Whether DSP Environment Setup is Needed:
Required : When you need to develop or modify DSP algorithm firmware.
Not Required : When using only MCU functionality, or using pre-compiled DSP firmware libraries.
The chip supports both FreeRTOS and Linux development modes. Please select the corresponding environment setup guide based on your development requirements:
FreeRTOS Development: Setup FreeRTOS SDK Development Environment
Linux Development: Setup Linux SDK Development Environment
SDK Download
Before proceeding, ensure that the Git version control system is installed, as it will be required to clone the SDK and perform version control.
DSP SDK Download (Optional) : If your application involves Digital Signal Processing (DSP) functionality, you need to download the DSP SDK.
DSP SDK Download (Optional) : If your application involves Digital Signal Processing (DSP) functionality, you need to download the DSP SDK.
This chip supports two development platforms. Please download the appropriate SDK based on your development scenario.
FreeRTOS Development: Download FreeRTOS SDK
Linux Development: Download Linux SDK
Project Compilation
After downloading the SDK, you can refer to Development Flow to start your application development.
Firmware Download
Depending on your development approach, Ameba provides different firmware download solutions.
If you use command-line tools for development, choose according to your download needs:
Single Device Download: Use the Flash Download Tool to download firmware to a single device, suitable for development debugging, single device firmware upgrade, and other scenarios.
Batch Download: Use the Flash Batch Download Tool to download firmware to multiple devices simultaneously, suitable for production environment batch download, firmware batch upgrade, and other scenarios.
Use the VS Code Firmware Download Feature to complete the download with one click within the IDE.
Log Monitoring
Depending on your development approach, Ameba provides different serial debugging solutions.
Use the Log Tool for serial communication and log viewing.
Use the VS Code Serial Monitor to complete serial debugging and log viewing within the IDE.
