Devices, such as a laptop, have an instruction set architecture, and the RISC-V is becoming a new standard. (Image Credit: Enkin_Akyurt/pixabay)
Both the x86 and ARM ISAs (Instruction Set Articheture) are commonly found in varying devices. However, these have high costs due to licensing fees that allow the company to integrate them. RISC-V (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) has recently joined the stage and could give developers more creativity. Plus, it has the potential to help introduce futuristic technologies such as self-driving cars and quantum computers. RISC-V was first developed in 2010 at the University of California, Berkeley. During that time, professors were exploring new methods to teach computer architecture and design to students.
When RISC-V didn't exist, academic computer scientists would create computer instruction sets for research projects. Doing so allowed them to avoid creative, financial, and legal limitations. Over the past few years, RISC-V has emerged as a royalty-free set for inventors to use on their terms.
Google, a RISC-V international member, plans on integrating the standard into Android and other devices. Intel has also joined the effort even though it owns the x86 ISA. Qualcomm announced it delivered 650 million RISC-V cores for IoT, automotive, mobile, and extended reality applications.
Additionally, tech companies can produce new instructions, which is exciting for those that purchase ISA licensing. Western Digital became one of the first to integrate RISC-V into a commercial device. Then, in 2019, the company said it would start creating instructions for faster, more efficient hard drives.
Other than making devices last longer, RISC-V can also be used in cryptocurrency, quantum computing, AI, and machine learning. Plenty of computer power must be used, and that tech needs to run on various processors simultaneously. That's because computer processor improvements may not be able to keep pace with advanced research. RISC-V can potentially speed up self-driving car progress. For instance, Ventana develops RISC-V chips designed for futuristic cars to handle heavy amounts of data while driving humans.
However, many challenges need to be considered before proceeding. For one thing, the tech is still new, so technologies that would be made of a RISC-V system must be developed first. So far, companies have begun developing supporting components for those systems.
Have a story tip? Message me at: http://twitter.com/Cabe_Atwell
