Intel Launches Pathfinder for RISC-V to Help Hobbyists, Academics, and Industry Build RISC-V Chips
Available in free-of-charge Standard and paid-for Professional flavors, Pathfinder aims to make it easier to experiment with chip IP.
Intel has announced its biggest move into supporting the free and open source RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) yet: the launch of Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V, a unified development environment for hobbyists and industry alike.
"Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V represents our ongoing commitment to accelerate the adoption of RISC-V and catalyze the ecosystem around an open source and standards-based vision," claims Intel's Vijay Krishnan, the general manager of the company's RISC-V Ventures division.
Designed to speed development of processors and systems-on-chips (SoCs) built around RISC-V cores, combined with other intellectual property (IP) and peripherals, Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V offers an Eclipse-based unified integrated development environment (IDE) backed by industry-standard toolchains — and comes with the support of a range of industry partners, including Andes Software, the Chips Alliance, Fraunhofer IMS, MIPS, the OpenHW Group, SiFive, STmicro, and of course RISC-V International.
"We are excited to see the launch of Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V," says RISC-V chief executive Calista Redmond, "which not only signifies the rapid adoption of RISC-V as an architecture, but also the valuable role that Intel is playing in making it easier for the ecosystem to benefit from the open and modular RISC-V architecture."
The move sees Intel positioning itself as an ally to, rather than competitor against, chips built around RISC-V architectures rather than its own x86 and x86-64 ISAs. Those using Pathfinder can take RISC-V cores and associated IP and instantiate it on FPGAs or simulators in order to test the combination ahead of a potential manufacturing run in silicon — complete with support for FreeRTOS, Zephyr, Yocto Linux, or bare-metal applications.
Perhaps surprisingly, though, Pathfinder isn't to be the sole preserve of professionals. Intel has launched the software in two variants: the Professional Edition is, as you'd expect, a paid-for commercially-supported product; but the Starter Edition is open to all as a free-of-charge download, with an explicitly-stated focus on "the hobbyist, academia, and research community."
The launch comes alongside increasing interest in RISC-V-based systems, from the unveiling of next-generation single-board computers like the StarFive VisionFive 2 and PINE64 Star64 to Espressif's declaration that all its future designs will be based around the free and open source ISA.
Anyone interested in giving Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V a go themselves can register to download the Starter Edition on Intel's website now.