Bulgarian open-hardware specialist Olimex has unveiled a brand new design for what’s claimed would be the “lowest value open supply {hardware} all-in-one RISC-V pc” on the earth — with a deliberate retail value of simply €1 (round $1.10.)
“The thought about EURO 1.00 Do-It-Your self instructional RISC-V pc got here at TuxCon 2024 and I made lighting discuss it,” explains Olimex founder Tsvetan Usunov of the board’s origin. “Then after the occasion I assumed some extra and determined to make use of SO8 bundle and to drop the SD Card which might take an excessive amount of sources.”
The RVPC turns a RISC-V microcontroller right into a retro-style microcomputer — for round one greenback. (📷: Olimex)
The finalized idea for what would develop into the Olimex RVPC was to ship a kit-form system, designed to be accessible even to these new to soldering, which provides an entire all-in-one platform for experimenting with primary computing on a RISC-V platform — and to take action for a value of simply €1.
The ensuing design relies on the WCH Electronics CH32V003, a 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller with six general-purpose enter/output (GPIO) pins. A PS/2 connector for a keyboard takes up two pins, a VGA connector for a show takes up one other three, and the ultimate free GPIO pin is linked to an on-board buzzer for audio suggestions.
As a microcontroller, the CH32V003 is probably not the primary alternative for driving a “private pc” — however the march of time and know-how means a contemporary microcontroller can simply go toe-to-toe with the microcomputers of the Eighties on which many individuals reduce their enamel. For software program, then, the board comes with what Usunov describes as a “naked minimal Woz-like monitor which can will let you study the RISC-V directions by poking, peeking, and disassembling the reminiscence.”
“As CH32V003 have solely 2k[B] of RAM, VGA decision of 320×200 is feasible,” Usunov continues, “[and] in textual content mode 40×25 characters. The video will likely be generated with out graphics video buffer, for the video games person outlined characters might be used. It’s extra toy than pc,” he admits, “however that is how I discovered computer systems 40 years in the past.”
Prototypes of the board will likely be obtainable subsequent week, Usunov says, and made obtainable to anybody enthusiastic about aiding with software program improvement; the completed kits will likely be offered on the Olimex internet retailer at simply €1 (round $1.10), and also will type the center of a soldering workshop Usunov is planning to run at OpenFest 2024 in Sofia this November.