Your submission was sent successfully! Close

You have successfully unsubscribed! Close

Thank you for signing up for our newsletter!
In these regular emails you will find the latest updates about Ubuntu and upcoming events where you can meet our team.Close

Canonical Partners with Microchip to Bring Ubuntu to Microchip’s PIC64GX RISC-V® MPUs

Canonical

on 1 August 2024

Tags: partners , RISC-V , silicon

​​In an exciting development for the community of open-source and edge computing, Canonical has partnered with Microchip to bring Ubuntu to PIC64GX RISC-V® microprocessors (MPUs). The PIC64GX is a 64-bit Linux® Operating System (OS)-capable processor series designed to address intelligent edge computing needs. The PIC64GX MPU series includes four SiFive RISC-V U54 64-bit CPU cores supporting symmetric and asymmetric multiprocessing (SMP/AMP) as well as deterministic latencies. 

Microchip’s PIC64 portfolio is supported by a suite of development tools, including the Curiosity PIC64GX1000 Kit ES (Curiosity Evaluation Kit). Canonical and Microchip have jointly collaborated to bring Ubuntu to Microchip’s PIC64GX RISC-V® MPU and the Curiosity Evaluation Kit. 

Microchip’s PIC64GX: secure, power-efficient RISC-V-based MPU with Ubuntu support

The PIC64GX MPU micro-architecture implementation is a simple, five-stage, single-issue, in-order pipeline that is not vulnerable to the Meltdown and Spectre exploits that frequently occur in common, out-of-order machines. 

The platform features five RISC-V cores which are coherent with the memory subsystem, allowing a versatile mix of deterministic real-time systems and Linux in a single, multi-core processor cluster. 

Thanks to the long-standing collaboration between Microchip and Canonical, Ubuntu is available on the PIC64GX MPU and Curiosity Evaluation Kit at launch. Through Ubuntu, developers gain access to a vast repository of open source software, development tools and a community of innovators fostering rapid development and deployment of applications. The integrated secure boot and comprehensive security features of the PIC64GX are complemented by Ubuntu’s rigorous security practices, ensuring a fortified hardware and software platform resilient against potential threats. Furthermore, the collaboration between Microchip and Canonical ensures ongoing compatibility and regular updates on Ubuntu for the PIC64GX. This partnership empowers developers to utilise cutting-edge open source technologies on a secure, scalable and efficient embedded computing platform.

Download Ubuntu for Microchip’s Curiosity Evaluation Kit 

An Ubuntu image is now available for Microchip’s PIC64GX1000 Curiosity  Evaluation Kit, and more work is expected to include upcoming features and a port to the upcoming Ubuntu 24.10 release. Download the latest Ubuntu images for Microchip’s PIC64GX1000 Curiosity Evaluation Kit here.

For guidance and discussion on the images and the best ways to install them, please check and contribute to the installation instruction so everyone can benefit from your experience. 

Contact us for more information

Talk to us today

Interested in running Ubuntu in your organisation?

Newsletter signup

Get the latest Ubuntu news and updates in your inbox.

By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to Canonical's Privacy Policy.

Related posts

Canonical enables Ubuntu on Milk-V Mars, a credit-card-sized RISC-V SBC

May 28th, 2024 – Canonical announced that the optimised Ubuntu 24.04 image is available for Milk-V Mars, the first credit-card-sized high-performance RISC-V...

Ventana and Canonical collaborate on enabling enterprise data center, high-performance and AI computing on RISC-V

This blog is co-authored by Gordan Markuš, Canonical and Kumar Sankaran, Ventana Micro Systems Unlocking the future of semiconductor innovation  RISC-V, an...

Empowering RISC-V with open source through Ubuntu

Canonical collaborates with partners to deliver optimised Ubuntu on RISC-V platforms, empowering innovation on RISC-V  Open source and global standards have a...