The collaboration is seen as helping to grow the RISC-V ecosystem.
StarFive is including Imagination’s GPU in the production version of its Beagle V artificial intelligence (AI) single-board computer, which was announced in January 2021, to add more flexible graphics performance to its single-board computer.
Beagle V is the first RISC-V AI single-board computer used in edge computing and customised for the Linux operating system. It adopted StarFive’s self-developed AI vision processing system-on-chip (SoC), the Jinghong 7100, having a multi-core RISC-V processor with frequency up to 1.5GHz.
The Beagle V is not only equipped with self-developed NNE and ISP, but also carries VDSP and video decorder/encorder, and has the scalable features that today’s desktop computers possess, while being small, low cost and low noise.
With the fusion of Linux and RISC-V, the Beagle V AI is able to provide powerful software and hardware support for the products and projects in the fields of industrial machinery, data centre, AI and edge computing, shortening the development cycle of project and accelerating the time-to-market.
StarFive selected Imagination's BXE-4-32 GPU IP, a core from Imagination's latest generation IMG B-Series GPU range due its advanced multi-core architecture. The B-Series delivers up to 6 TFLOPS of compute power, with an up to 30% reduction in power, 25% area reduction and 35% bandwidth reduction over previous generations, and up to 2.5x higher fill-rate than other competing IP cores. The B-Series includes a total of 33 different configurations and offers extremely extensive options for multiple markets such as mobile, consumer, desktop, server, IoT, DTV, and automotive.
Commenting Thomas Xu, CEO, StarFive, said, “Imagination’s GPUs feature outstanding performance, power, and area (PPA), which will help us deliver powerful capabilities while optimising the cost. We look forward to conducting more strategic collaborations with Imagination in the future, and leveraging our respective technology and product advantages to build a more complete processor ecosystem and drive the continuous development of RISC-V technology."
