LinuxGizmos.com Article: Linux-Driven 96Boards SBC Features AI And RISC-V Companion Chips

Bitmain announced a “Sophon BM1880 EDB” 96Boards CE SBC featuring its new Sophon BM1880 AI chip plus dual Cortex-A53 cores that run Linux. There’s also a RISC-V MCU and optional Raspberry Pi and Arduino modules.

Beijing-based Bitmain, which is known primarily as a leading vendor of bitcoin mining chips and computers, also has a “Sophon” AI chip business built around its BM1680 and more recent BM1682 Tensor Computing Processor (TPU) AI chips. Bitmain recently announced a third-gen BM1880 TPU along with a Sophon BM1880 Edge Development Board (EDB) 96Boards CE SBC, referred to by 96Boards.org as the “Sophon Edge.”
This is the first board we’ve seen with a RISC-V companion MCU. The unidentified chip is probably an MCU-like RISC-V part for real-time processing, possibly designed by Bitmain. That’s a high clock rate for an MCU, so it’s possible it’s an alternative Linux chip in addition to the dual -A53 block. There’s a boot switch listed in the hardware manual that lets you switch between Arm and RISC-V for booting.
 
To read more, please visit: http://linuxgizmos.com/linux-driven-96boards-sbc-features-ai-and-risc-v-companion-chips/.