Ubuntu continues expanding RISC-V support – now, the $17 Sipeed LicheeRV
RISC-V architectures have gained considerable attention and funding in recent years. The architecture was good enough that NASA plans toAnd just this week RISC-V International, the governing body behind the ISA,However, compared to more established chip operations like Arm, x86 or Power, RISC-V remains in its infancy and has largely been roaming on development and FPGA boards, Internet of Things devices, and embedded applications.
the RISC-V architecture for embedded storage controllers. Google, Imagination, Nvidia, and Apple are said to be taking an interest if not already using it., while many dismiss RISC-V as being underpowered, there is nothing stopping someone from designing a high-performance processor based on the architecture.
That's not to say there aren't barriers to overcome. One of the biggest, according to Canonical, is software compatibility."RISC-V has a lot of potential and is becoming a competitive ISA in multiple markets. With this premise in mind, porting Ubuntu to RISC-V to become the reference OS for early adopters was a natural choice."
RISC-V isn't unique in this department. Arm took years to garner sufficient software support to be practical in desktop and server applications.on its website for a variety of RISC-V platforms including the LicheeRV dev board.