back to article DARPA adds RISC-V to its Toolbox: Defense researchers can get special access to SiFive chip designs

Engineers and scientists working on American military research programs can now access RISC-V processor core designs and associated blueprints through DARPA's Toolbox, and use the technology in their prototypes and experiments. The RISC-V chip designs will be provided by SiFive, which late last week announced a Toolbox …

  1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Wanted: Situations Vacant ...... Creative Novel Project Programmers

    Essentially, if you are participating in a DARPA research program, and that involves making your own custom silicon, you can hit up Toolbox-approved suppliers to get cheaper and easier access to chip designs and tooling for making your non-production prototypes and the like. Arm lately offered more flexible licensing for its chip designs most likely in response to SiFive's approach, which typically involves no upfront costs.

    How long do we have to wait before there is reporting of a quantum leap being made which rewards and awards meaningful upfront pre-payments for novel creative DARPA/ARIA like programs for researching and commercialising/capitalising and exploiting/defending with/against attacks?

    Or would that tend to be likely highly classified TS/SCI COSMIC Intel in .mil circles and only exclusively known to a very select chosen few, which is the standard traditional default way of trying to deal effectively with things which are Suddenly AWEsomely Great Games Changing ‽ .

    1. StargateSg7 Bronze badge

      Re: Wanted: Situations Vacant ...... Creative Novel Project Programmers

      Nah! I would be more interested in trapped Xenon gas molecules for Quantum-well based teleportation for instantaneous full-duplex Petabytes per second communications over interstellar distances.

      Then I would be using filing cabinet-sized particle accelerators used to create Structural Isomers out of common Iron which lets me create CONTROLLED cascade near-atomic-scale deflagration event cycles for infinite time-period megawatt+ power supplies.

      Add I would use the SAME tech to create High Frequency Gravity Waves (HFGW) and Medium Frequency Gravity Waves (MFGW) to create summed beams of "gravity" which is basically a GWASER (Gravity Wave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) so I can create localized go-through-anything-at-any-distance 3D-XYZ scanning systems and also create localized gravity wells so I fly in any direction at speeds beyond 50,000 KMH using non-aerodynamic principles.

      Then I use multiple 1000 by 1000 arrays of 3 to 7 nanometre electron beam emitters to WUICKLY within mere minutes create many GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) substrate combined CPU/GPU/DSP super-processors onto 5mm thick Borosilicate Glass wafers that have micro-channels etched internally used to contain high-heat transfer capability thermo-fluid which can cool those chips even at 60 GHz to Two THz clock speeds.

      THEN ... we add in CHEAP Negative Refractive Index metamaterials which have FLEXIBLE optical waveguides and/or MM-wave channels burned/etched into UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) fibres by the millions so that optical and radar stealth can be made publicly available for cheap!

      After that, Yttrium-Copper-Garnet-Gallium-Oxide as a reliable room temperature superconductor and for use in ultra high-power electromagnets for our NEW super-strength electric motor and induction systems for cars, commercial vehicles, trains, rapid transit and AWESOME sounding speakers and headphones!

      Is that all we need? I can ask my "alien friends" for more! They got plenty of other technology they can give away to me which I will PUBLICLY OPEN SOURCE for completely free use by anyone and anywhere at any time!

      V

  2. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Coat

    SiFive

    Here's hoping that none of SiFive's accesses has a "SiFive123" password.

    Mine's the one with the 16-char password in the pocket.

    1. Spherical Cow Silver badge

      Re: SiFive

      correct horse battery staple

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Obsolete

    Procurement takes so long that all the chips in even the latest weapons are pathetic compared to the chips and sensors in the £100 android mobile phone in the soldier's pocket.

    Maybe best to accept the reality and mandate all equipment uses bog standard ARM chips...they can swap out for the latest ARM just before production. A raspberry PI probably powerful enough for 99% of use cases.

    Far cheaper and more powerful than the DARPA approach.

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