“RISC-V continues to gain strong traction in the IoT space, where its code density, performance and power characteristics are ideally suited. Having a leading IP vendor such as CEVA providing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity solutions for RISC-V is a further boost to our ecosystem,” states Rick O'Connor, executive director of the non-profit RISC-V Foundation.
CEVA's RivieraWaves family offers a comprehensive suite of IPs and platforms for embedding Bluetooth (both low energy and dual mode) and Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax into SoCs/ASSPs. Within these SoCs, the protocol software executes on the customer's choice of embedded processor. CEVA's latest RivieraWaves platforms are the first to offer Bluetooth and Wi-Fi IP solutions integrated with a RISC-V sub-system, including a comprehensive set of peripheral IP.
The RISC-V processor implementation is perfectly matched to typical IoT device requirements in terms of performance and die cost, with a Coremark/MHz figure of 2.44 in a gate count of under 20Kgates. Blending perfectly with the low power architecture of the RivieraWaves IP, the RISC-V based Bluetooth platforms offer the industry's lowest clock frequency and most power efficient Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth dual mode solutions. For heavier data loads, the RivieraWaves Wi-Fi RISC-V platforms are the world's smallest fully-integrated solutions, and scale from basic 1x1-11b-1Mbps up to 2x2-11ac/ax MU-MIMO-1201Mbps. These pre-integrated RISC-V based platforms significantly reduce the development time and bill-of-materials for CEVA's customers, allowing for rapid product development and market introduction.
“Commercial freedom coupled with the ability to innovate are key aspects of RISC-V, which resonate with our customers," says Aviv Malinovitch, vice president and general manager of the Connectivity Business Unit at CEVA. "We have seen RISC-V quickly evolve from an exciting concept into an impressive alternative to mainstream embedded processors, especially for communication subsystems. By offering RISC-V implementations of our RivieraWaves Bluetooth and Wi-Fi solutions, we have further extended the processor options for our customers, providing them a highly attractive alternative for their product designs."
The RISC-V processor is compliant with the RV32IMC 32-bit ISA, supporting compressed instructions and integer multiplication/division. Coupled with the popular compiler/debugger toolchains such as GNU GCC/GDB and LLVM, and with growing support from major tool vendors including Lauterbach, the RISC-V processor presents a familiar and efficient software development environment for embedded developers.
With more than 1.5 billion devices shipped to date and dozens of licensees, the RivieraWaves Bluetooth and Wi-Fi IP is widely deployed in consumer and IoT devices with many of the world's leading semiconductor companies and OEMs. Optimized implementations are available targeting a broad range of connected devices, including smartphones, tablets, speakers, headsets and earbuds, hearing aids and other wearables, consumer electronics, smart home, industrial and automotive applications.
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