RISC-V is coming

[Andreas]

It looks like RISC-V is already in the pipeline of Espressif.

John Lee (EspressifSystem)

[Andreas]

I haven’t been aware that Espressif is a founding member of the RISC-V Foundation.

Espressif

Company: Espressif
Membership Level: Founding, Gold

Espressif is dedicated to the research, design, and distribution of IoT solutions. We continually strive to transform the communication industry through ever improving IoT solutions via energy, performance, and functionality optimization, improving the lives of consumers and enterprises in countless ways in the years to come.

– https://riscv.org/membership/1013/espressif/

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brucehoult, 5 months ago

Yeah, Espressif joined the RISC-V foundation, so it will be interesting to see if there is an ESP32 with RISC-V instead of Xtensa sometime soon.

microcolonel, 5 months ago

Maybe an RV64GC[V maybe] ESP64, with a bit more RAM. :- )

[Andreas]

Just found out that the Kendryte K210 – coined as the first competitive RISC-V chip – is supported by PlatformIO ^[1] and MicroPython ^[2] already – also based on FreeRTOS like the ESP32.

It is conceived by Boris Lovosevic (@loboris) of LoBo MicroPython fame. After being in beta stage since January, 2019, it has been maturing throughout the year. Read all about it!

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1. Kendryte K210 — PlatformIO 4.1.0rc3 documentation ↩︎

2. LoBo Forums - MicroPython for Kendryte K210, RISC-V Dual Core 64bit CPU ↩︎

[weef]

After doing his day job (porting MicroPython to K210) Boris Lovosevic seems to be back, so loboris’ port of MicroPython for ESP32 is not abandoned:

[…] I won’t promise any dates, but I have no intention to stop working on this port.

(https://loboris.eu/forum/showthread.php?tid=907&pid=2194#pid2194)

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BTW, this year’s Hackaday conf badge features an FPGA with a RISC-V core.

[Andreas]

@weef

porting MicroPython to K210

In this context, we just also found Porting Mirocpython to Risc V ? - MicroPython Forum (Archive) and

Welcome to FPGA MicroPython (FμPy)

[Andreas]

GigaDevice GD32VF103

Further looking into the RISC-V thing, we found the GigaDevice GD32VF103 and would like to share some information about it.

• https://www.gigadevice.com/products/microcontrollers/gd32/risc-v/
• GigaDevice unveils the GD32V series with RISC-V core, in a brand new 32bit general purpose microcontroller
• GigaDevice Releases GD32V RISC-V MCU and Development Boards - CNX Software
• https://medium.com/swlh/porting-apache-mynewt-os-to-gigadevice-gd32-vf103-on-risc-v-4054a5922493
• https://www.weibo.com/7285313566/Ie0qBteYP

Comparison to the equivalent GD32F103VBT6 Arm Cortex-M3 MCU

Best of all, you can already buy the microcontroller on Tmall, with for example GD32VF103TBU6 (QFN36, 64KB flash) going for 9 RMB ($1.27) per sample, and as low as $6.80 RMB ($0.95) per unit for ~3K orders, and the top of the line GD32VF103VBT6 (LQFQ100) going for 15 RMB ($2.11) for a single part, or 9.35 RMB ($1.31) per unit for 500 pieces orders. For reference, the equivalent GD32F103VBT6 Arm Cortex-M3 MCU is sold for exactly the same price. So we get better performance and low power consumption at the same price tag.

– GigaDevice Releases GD32V RISC-V MCU and Development Boards - CNX Software

[Andreas]

… MicroPython support for the

@Andreas

GigaDevice GD32VF103

is coming, see:

Add GD32VF103 port

[Andreas]

Almost three years after the last updates here, …

• https://semiengineering.com/risc-v-pushes-into-the-mainstream/ ^[1]

… I think RISC-V can be described as “having arrived” – not only for MCUs, but also running a full Linux kernel up to 5.15 on an SBC.

• https://ubuntu.com/blog/ubuntu-continues-expanding-risc-v-enablement-in-2022

  Ubuntu is available on a variety of RISC-V development boards, including SiFive’s Unmatched and Unleashed, Allwinner’s Nezha D1, StarFive’s VisionFive, and Sipeed’s LicheeRV.

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• https://linuxgizmos.com/sifive-unveils-octa-core-risc-v-designs-including-two-linux-ready-models/
• https://linuxgizmos.com/hifive-unmatched-sbc-showcases-new-fu740-risc-v-soc/
• RISC-V based Allwinner chip to debut on $13 Linux hacker board
• StarFive JH7110 Product Brief (RISC-V U74 quad-core, up to 1.5 GHz)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfA2HLibOOY
• Booting Debian on the StarFive VisionFive

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1. via: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34105528 ↩︎

[Andreas]

It’s now one blow after another.

Boufallo Lab BL616/BL618 RISC-V MCU supports WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and Zigbee...

– see also: https://twitter.com/SipeedIO/status/1608366512083193857
– via: Boufallo Lab BL616/BL618 RISC-V MCU Supports WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and Zigbee | Hacker News

[Andreas]

ESP32-C3 Bootloader

@Daniel Mangum

Bootloaders are a great place to look when you want to understand how software and hardware communicate. While you may never need to modify the bootloader yourself, knowledge of how it works is useful for conceptualizing how changes made at higher levels utlimately translate to the machine.

RISC-V Bytes: Exploring a Custom ESP32 Bootloader

– via: RISC-V Bytes: Exploring a Custom ESP32 Bootloader | Hacker News

See also

Espressif moves exclusively to RISC-V

[Andreas]

@einsiedlerkrebs and me recently asked ourselves about the origins of RISC-V, and how it is governed. The http://riscbook.com/ may have some answers.