• SiFive RISC-V-based rapid design methodology enables fast development of IoT devices connected to AWS
SiFive, Inc., a leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP and silicon solutions, announced recently the SiFive Learn Inventor Development System is now recognized as an Amazon FreeRTOS-qualified device, one of the leading-edge RISC-V based devices to receive this status. This product heralds another step forward in SiFive’s vision to enable companies to rapidly create new market-focused devices customized to their target application workload requirements. Amazon FreeRTOS devices can connect directly to services from Amazon Web Services (AWS), like AWS IoT Core.
Amazon FreeRTOS Qualification
To enable this qualification, the Amazon FreeRTOS real-time operating system has been enabled with RISC-V support and paired with a freely available open-source support package. Based on the SiFive FE310 SoC, the SiFive Learn Inventor features the SiFive E31 standard core supporting the RISC-V RV32IMAFC instruction set, 16KB instruction cache, and 64KB data cache. The SiFive Learn Inventor offers a broad array of interfaces and sensors, including accelerometer, thermometer, compass and ambient light detection, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity built-in. Low-power operation is enabled through multiple power domains and a low-power standby mode.
Following the Amazon FreeRTOS qualification process, the SiFive Learn Inventor Development System was tested extensively for Amazon FreeRTOS interoperability, resulting in a qualified device that can be used with AWS IoT Core services to enable reliable, secure and easy interaction of connected devices with cloud applications and other devices.
As an Amazon FreeRTOS-qualified RISC-V based device, the SiFive Learn Inventor Development System provides a platform for RISC-V product and software development of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices connected to AWS IoT Core services. The FE310 SoC and supporting software was created using SiFive’s Core Designer and unique methodology; companies wishing to create an AWS-connected SoC optimized for their target application can use Core Designer to generate the appropriate SiFive Core IP. The qualified SiFive Learn Inventor development system serves as a starting point for future designs, enabling them to be simply and easily updated and re-qualified. SiFive’s vision is to extend the automatic generation to the software components as well as the IP, accelerating the qualification process.
Scalable SiFive RISC-V SoCs for IoT
The free and open RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) is a popular new choice for developing efficient, low-power devices specifically intended for focused IoT market segments. Domain-optimized designs enable fully featured devices without additional legacy ISA burden or unused silicon. With the IoT market projected to scale into a trillion devices in the coming years, domain-specific designs can be enabled with SiFive’s ability to quickly and easily create customized, low-power SoCs at scale.
We are excited to see the AWS qualification of a RISC-V-based product as it is an important milestone, said Calista Redmond, CEO of RISC-V Foundation. The Amazon FreeRTOS qualification gives designers confidence in being able to design RISC-V-based IoT edge computing systems that can take advantage of AWS IoT Core services.
SiFive CEO Naveed Sherwani said, The SiFive Learn Inventor Development System qualification for AWS Core IoT services underscores our leadership in RISC-V development and enablement. SiFive’s mission is to enable companies to quickly and cost-effectively design custom SoCs. The SiFive Learn Inventor is one of the first RISC-V based AWS Core IoT devices and it continues to deliver on the vision for designers of edge compute IoT SoCs simply and easily connecting to the cloud.
