risc-v

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on ASUS unveils Tinker V RISC-V single board computer, Tinker board 3 SBC with Rockchip RK3568 SoC

ASUS unveils Tinker V RISC-V single board computer, Tinker board 3 SBC with Rockchip RK3568 SoC

ASUS Tinker V RISC-V SBC

ASUS IoT has added two new members to the Tinker board family with the Tinker V and Tinker Board 3 single board computers powered by respectively Renesas RZ/Five single-core RISC-V SoC and Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor. ASUS Tinker V RISC-V SBC Tinker V specifications: SoC – Renesas RZ/Five single core AndesCore AX45MP RISC-V processor clocked at 1.0 GHz System Memory – 1GB DDR4 Storage – MicroSD card slot, optional 16GB eMMC flash, optional SPI flash Networking – 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports USB – 1x Micro USB port, 1x Micro USB (OTG) port Serial – 2x CAN Bus via 6-pin terminal block 2x COM RS232 via 5-pin terminal block Expansion – 20-pin GPIO header with up to 2x UART, 2x I2C, 4x GPIO, 2x ADC, 1x SPI, 3.3V, and GND Debugging – JTAG pin header Power Supply – 10 to 24V DC via 5.5/2.5 mm DC barrel jack […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on Allwinner R128 wireless SoC features 64-bit RISC-V core, Arm Cortex-M33 core, and HiFi 5 audio DSP

Allwinner R128 wireless SoC features 64-bit RISC-V core, Arm Cortex-M33 core, and HiFi 5 audio DSP

Allwinner R128

Allwinner is mostly known for its low-cost Arm processor running Android or Linux, but the Allwinner R128 is a wireless audio SoC with a C906 64-bit RISC-V application core, an Arm Cortex-M33 real-time time core, a HiFi 5 DSP, and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The SoC also comes with 1MB SRAM, up to 16MB flash, up to 32MB PSRAM, display and camera interfaces, support for microphone arrays, and plenty of I/Os that should make it suitable for smart speakers and other voice-controlled home appliances with or without display. Allwinner R128 specifications: Application core – Xuantie C906 64-bit RISC-V core clocked at 600 MHz. DSP – Cadence HiFi 5 audio DSP clocked at 400 MHz Communication core – Arm M33 Star (Cortex-M33 from Arm China?) core clocked at 240 MHz with Trustzone support Memory 1MB SRAM 8MB, 16MB, or 32MB PSRAM (SiP = System-in-Package) OPI PSRAM controller Storage QPI flash […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments on Armbian 23.02 out with Linux 6.1, DietPi 8.14 adds experimental RISC-V support

Armbian 23.02 out with Linux 6.1, DietPi 8.14 adds experimental RISC-V support

Armbian 23.02

Two of the most popular projects providing images for Arm and RISC-V single board computers have released new updates with Armbian 23.02 adding Linux 6.1-based Debian and Ubuntu images, and DietPi 8.14 adding experimental RISC-V support for the StarFive VisionFive 2 SBC and new Arm boards. Armbian 23.02 Quoll Linux 6.1 is the latest LTS kernel, so Armbian is now providing Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy and Debian 11 Bullseye images based on Linux 6.1.y for boards that support it, as well as the first development images based on Debian 12 Bookworm and Ubuntu 23.04 Lunar. I could not find any new boards added in the changelog, but the release brings several improvements and bug fixes to some of the already supported SBCs including the Raspberry Pi 3, Orange Pi R1 Plus LTS, ROCK Pi S, ROCK Pi 4,  NanoPi R2S, NanoPi NEO3, and Banana Pi BPI-M2 Pro. The announcement also highlights […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on CH32V003 RISC-V MCU gets $1.5 development board, open source GCC toolchain and flasher utility

CH32V003 RISC-V MCU gets $1.5 development board, open source GCC toolchain and flasher utility

Cheap CH32V003 RISC-V development board

When we first wrote about the 10-cent CH32V003 RISC-V MCU it was offered in a $7 development board and the closed-source MounRiver Studio IDE had to be used for programming. But things have improved since October 2022, and now, you can buy a CH32V003 board for as little as $1.5 plus shipping, and an open-source GCC toolchain and flasher/downloader are now available. Let’s have a look at the hardware first with the low-cost nanoCH32V003 development board featuring a 48 MHz CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller with 2KB SRAM and 16KB flash, a USB Type-C port for power, a reset button, and two rows of headers for the GPIOs. MuseLab nanoCH32V003 specifications: MCU – WCH CH32V003F4U6 32-bit RISC-V2A microcontroller up to 48 MHz with 2KB SRAM, 16KB flash (QFN20 package) Expansion – 2x 11-pin headers with up to 18x GPIOs,  1x USART, 1x I2C, 1x SPI, 8-channel 10-bit ADC, 5V, 3.3V, GND Debugging […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on Linux 6.2 release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures

Linux 6.2 release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures

Linux 6.2 release

Linux 6.2 has just been released with Linus Torvalds making the announcement on LKML as usual: So here we are, right on (the extended) schedule, with 6.2 out. Nothing unexpected happened last week, with just a random selection of small fixes spread all over, with nothing really standing out. The shortlog is tiny and appended below, you can scroll through it if you’re bored. Wed have a couple of small things that Thorsten was tracking on the regression side, but I wasn’t going to apply any last-minute patches that weren’t actively pushed by maintainers, so they will have to show up for stable. Nothing seemed even remotely worth trying to delay things for. And this obviously means that the 6.3 merge window will open tomorrow, and I already have 30+ pull requests queued up, which I really appreciate. I like how people have started to take the whole “ready for […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 45 Comments on Hands-on experience with StarFive VisionFive 2 RISC-V SBC using Debian 12

Hands-on experience with StarFive VisionFive 2 RISC-V SBC using Debian 12

VisionFive 2 Serial Console

StarFive sent me one of their VisionFive 2 RISC-V SBC for evaluation and review. I got the model with dual Gigabit Ethernet and 8GB RAM, and I’ll report my experience with the Debian 12 “bookworm” image. But note that won’t exactly be a review since the board is unreviewable at this time. It’s really for early adopters and there are many issues to solve, and in this post, I’ll report what works and what doesn’t, and some of the challenges I encountered just to install the OS… VisionFive 2 unboxing The board comes in a package that reads “Embrace change, embrace the future”. The bottom side has some useful links and QR codes, and what you’ll want is the GitHub repository with the source code and instructions to build the image from source (Note: Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, or 20.04 x86_64 recommended), as well as the RVspace forum section for the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Balthazar – An open-source hardware modular RISC-V, Arm, or FPGA laptop

Balthazar – An open-source hardware modular RISC-V, Arm, or FPGA laptop

Balthazar RISC-V laptop

The Balthazar Personal Computing Device (BPCD) is an open-source hardware 13.3-inch laptop with a RISC-V, Arm, or FPGA module and designed to be upgradable, expandable, and sustainable. The developers say the laptop is based on a few concepts inspired by the EOMA68 project. The EOMA68 is a CPU module based on the PCMCIA form factor, and an Allwinner A20 EOMA68 module was showcased in a prototype of the Rhombus Tech 15.6-inch Libre Laptop but I don’t think the project was ever manufactured. Balthazar laptop features: SoM with RISC-V, FPGA, or Arm Cortex-A7x processor plus memory and flash Storage – SATA SSD, eSATA connector, microSD card socket Display – 13.3-inch non-glare display Video Output – HDMI Audio – Speakers, detachable microphone array Camera – Detachable webcam Connectivity – Ethernet, WiFi USB – 2x USB 3.0 ports, Micro USB OTG port, Micro USB port User input Waterproof keyboard with an illuminated track-point […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on Beken BK7256 320 MHz dual-core RISC-V IoT MCU offers WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, JPEG video encoder/decoder

Beken BK7256 320 MHz dual-core RISC-V IoT MCU offers WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, JPEG video encoder/decoder

Beken BK7256 development board

Until now, I had only heard about Beken Bluetooth audio chips, but I’ve just been informed the company is also making WiFi chips such as the BK7256 that are notably found in some Tuya Smart Home modules. Beken offers both RISC-V and Arm WiFi and Bluetooth chips with features summarized as follows: BK7235 single-core RISC-V MCU up to 320 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.2 LE, 4MB flash, 512KB SRAM, optional 4MB PSRAM BK7236 dual-core Arm MCU up to 120 to 240 MHh with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.3 dual mode, 4MB flash, 512KB SRAM, optional 4MB PSRAM BK7237 dual-core RISC-V MCU up to 320 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.2 dual mode, 4 or 8MB flash, 512KB SRAM, optional 4MB PSRAM BK7256 dual-core RISC-V MCU up to 320 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.2 […]

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