EPFL’s Open Source Single-Core RISC-V Microcontroller for Edge Computing


A new technical paper titled "X-HEEP: An Open-Source, Configurable and Extendible RISC-V Microcontroller" was published by researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Abstract: "In this work, we present eXtendible Heterogeneous Energy-Efficient Platform (X-HEEP), a configurable and extendible single-core RISC-V-based ultra-low-power microcontroller. X-HEEP can be used ... » read more

The Past Predicting The Future


It is often said that you cannot predict the future by looking at the past, but that isn't always correct. There are many clues provided by digging into change. Those changes are a prelude to what may happen in the future. One way we can do that here at Semiconductor Engineering is by looking at changes in reading habits. What types of articles are attracting the most attention? This is a sure ... » read more

Rethinking Computing Fundamentals


New compute architectures—not just new chips—are becoming a common theme in Silicon Valley these days. The whole semiconductor industry is racing to find the fastest, cheapest, lowest-power approach to processing. The drivers of this shift are well documented. Moore's Law is slowing down, in part because it's becoming more difficult to route signals across an SoC at the latest process no... » read more