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NXP — i.MX RT700 Crossover MCUs for AI-Enabled Wearables and Smart Devices

 

NXP

NXP i.MX RT700 Crossover MCUs for AI-Enabled Wearables and Smart Devices

Multi-Core Crossover MCUs Delivering AI, Graphics, and Ultra-Low Power at the Edge

The i.MX RT700 family from NXP is designed to power next-generation smart, AI-enabled edge devices that demand high performance alongside ultra-low power operation. Targeting applications such as wearables, consumer medical devices, smart home systems, and advanced human-machine interfaces (HMI), the i.MX RT700 integrates multiple processing domains to balance compute-intensive workloads with always-on sensing.

At the core of the platform is a high-performance Compute Subsystem featuring an Arm® Cortex®-M33 running up to 325 MHz, paired with a Cadence® Tensilica® HiFi 4 DSP for advanced digital signal and audio processing. Complementing this is an ultra-low power Sense Subsystem with a second Arm Cortex-M33 and a HiFi 1 DSP, enabling continuous sensor monitoring without the need for an external sensor hub. This architecture helps reduce system complexity, footprint, and overall BOM cost.

To support edge AI workloads, the i.MX RT700 integrates NXP’s eIQ® Neutron neural processing unit (NPU), delivering up to 172x acceleration for machine learning inference. With up to 7.5 MB of on-chip SRAM and support for low-voltage 1.2 V xSPI interfaces, the platform enables high bandwidth external memory access while minimizing power consumption.

Advanced graphics capabilities are built in, including a 2.5D GPU with vector graphics acceleration, frame buffer compression, and support for rich display interfaces. Comprehensive peripheral integration, robust security via EdgeLock® Secure Enclave, and broad software support through the MCUXpresso ecosystem make the i.MX RT700 a scalable and developer-friendly solution for intelligent edge designs.

Features

Core Platform

  • Main Compute Subsystem
    • Arm Cortex-M33 up to 325 MHz
    • Cadence Tensilica HiFi 4 DSP up to 325 MHz
    • eIQ Neutron NPU up to 325 MHz
  • Sense Compute Subsystem
    • Arm Cortex-M33 up to 250 MHz
    • Cadence Tensilica HiFi 1 DSP up to 250 MHz
Memory
  • Up to 7.5 MB on-chip SRAM
  • Three xSPI interfaces for external memory expansion
  • Supports up to 16-bit wide external memories up to 250 MHz DDR
Peripherals
  • eUSB support with integrated PHY
  • Two SD/eMMC interfaces, including eMMC 5.0 with HS400/DDR
  • USB high-speed host and device controller with on-chip PHY
  • Digital microphone interface supporting up to 8 channels
  • Serial interfaces: UART, I²C, I3C, SPI, HSPI, and SAI
 Graphics & Multimedia
  • 2.5D GPU with vector graphics acceleration
  • EZH-V graphics accelerator using RISC-V core with SIMD/DSP extensions
  • OpenVG 1.1 support
  • Up to 720p at 60 FPS from on-chip SRAM
  • LCD interface and MIPI DSI support
  • Integrated JPEG and PNG acceleration
  • CSI 8/10/16-bit parallel camera interface via FlexIO
Security
  • EdgeLock® Secure Enclave (Core Profile)
    • Secure boot and secure debug
    • Cryptographic services including TRNG, DICE, UID, PUF, and OTP
    • Hardware accelerators for PKC, AES, SHA, and more
    • Tamper and intrusion detection
    • Device attestation with DICE support
    • Full device lifecycle management
MCUXpresso Developer Experience
  • Full MCUXpresso ecosystem support
    • Multiple IDE options
    • Pin, clock, peripheral, memory, and security configuration tools
    • Security provisioning and programming utilities
    • Comprehensive SDK
  • Zephyr RTOS support

Applications

  • Wearables and hearables
  • Consumer medical and health monitoring devices
  • Smart home systems
  • Voice-enabled and audio-centric products
  • Advanced HMI and display-driven applications

Block Diagram

i.MX RT700 Crossover MCU Block Diagram


NXP — i.MX RT700 Crossover MCU

Evaluation Board

i.MX RT700 EVK

The MIMXRT700-EVK evaluation board provides a flexible platform for evaluating and prototyping with i.MX RT700 crossover microcontrollers. It supports rapid development using the MCUXpresso toolchain and includes expansion options such as Arduino UNO, M.2, PMod®, microphone, and display connectors. Off-the-shelf LCD panel support enables fast development of wearable and HMI designs. The board also integrates a high-speed USB debug probe with firmware update capability and supports CMSIS-DSP and SEGGER J-Link LITE debugging.