FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Custom-built RISC-V personal computer features open-hardware front panel.
Halifax, UK, 30th November 2021—Open hardware consultancy AB Open has built a unique personal computer based on the free and open source RISC-V instruction set architecture, following a partnership with Future Corporation.
Following AB Open’s earlier success in being one of the first in the world to assemble a complete RISC-V PC, Future Corporation partnered with the company to build a more powerful version based around SiFive’s HiFive Unmatched board.
To this, AB Open has added a GNU/Linux-based operating system, dedicated graphics processing card, high-speed solid-state storage, and Wi-Fi connectivity, housed in a custom-designed chassis which includes a smart front panel with OLED display.
This panel communicates with the underlying PC via a custom Python application and provides at-a-glance monitoring of system statistics including CPU and memory usage, component temperatures, and more.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen by Future Corporation for this project,” AB Open managing director Andrew Back says of the partnership, “which truly speaks to the company’s interest in embracing the very latest technologies and its confidence in how RISC-V can be used in a range of domains, from gaming to high-end embedded systems.
“Interest in the free and open source RISC-V architecture is growing daily, and it’s projects like this which help to showcase its potential. We want to thank Future Corporation for partnering with us to work on the project.”
“We are excited at the many and diverse opportunities presented by the RISC-V architecture, which promises to accelerate the pace of innovation for a great number of application domains.”, comments Kunihito Ishibashi, Future Corporation Senior Vice President. Adding “This collaboration builds upon the SiFive HiFive Unmatched to create a RISC-V Linux PC, is just one part of a wider programme of activity and we look forward to working together with AB Open on future RISC-V initiatives.”
As part of the companies’ commitment to open source, AB Open and Future Corporation have released the hardware design files and software source code for the custom OLED front panel under a permissive licence. These files can be downloaded from GitHub now at github.com/abopen/hifive-unmatched-front-panel.
MULTIMEDIA
A video showcasing the Future RISC-V PC is available at vimeo.com/644341183 to support this release.
ABOUT THE FUTURE RISC-V PC
The Future RISC-V PC is based on the SiFive HiFive Unmatched single-board computer and includes four high-performance SiFive Essential U74 and one SiFive Essential S7 processor cores, 16GB of DDR4 memory, 1GB of NVMe storage, and an NVIDIA GeForce GT710 graphics processor. This hardware makes it the most powerful RISC-V development system available to the public.
ABOUT AB OPEN
AB Open is an open hardware and technical communities consultancy based in Halifax, UK. AB Open’s clients include semiconductor companies, component distributors, equipment vendors, and service providers.
More information is available at abopen.com.
ABOUT FUTURE CORPORATION
Future Corporation is a Japanese company that conducts “IT Consulting & Service Business” and “Innovation Business” through the use of latest technology.
Since its founding in 1989 the company has designed and improved the businesses of its clients through developing systems that integrate business management with IT. Its clients come from various industries including finance, manufacturing, distribution, and logistics.
Future Corporation has also created its own new services based on the know-how it accumulated in its operations.
The company aims to contribute to society by promoting innovation and creating new values for clients that is based on the strengths of connoisseurship and implementation ability of the latest technologies, such as AI and robotics.
More information is available at www.future.co.jp/en.
CONTACT
Andrew Back
AB Open
Unit C5, Tenterfields Business Park
Halifax
HX2 6EQ
UK
Tel: +44 (0)7976 278735
Email: info@abopen.com
http://abopen.com
Gareth Halfacree is a technology journalist and technical author best known for his work on the Raspberry Pi User Guide and an upcoming book covering the BBC’s micro:bit project. A keen open source advocate and RISC-V fan, Gareth is responsible for curating our fortnightly community round-up posts.