HCL:VisionFive

StarFive VisionFive

The VisionFive is the first generation of affordable RISC-V computers designed to run Linux. It is fully open-source with open-source software, open hardware design, and RISC-V open architecture.

It also has rich AI features with Neural Network Engine and NVDLA Engine.

Technical details

RISC-V SiFive U74 Dual-Core 64-bit RV64GC ISA SoC
- 2MB L2 cache @ 1.0GHz
- Vision DSP Tensilica-VP6 for computing vision @ 600MHz
- NVDLA Engine (configuration 2048 MACs @ 800MHz)
- Neural Network Engine (1024MACs @ 500MHz)
8GB LPDDR4
2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth 4.2 (BLE)
2 x MIPI-CSI (up to 4K@30fps)
1 x MIPI-DSI (up to 4K@30fps)
1 x HDMI 2.0 (up to 1080p@60fps display)
Video Decoder (H264/H265) up to 4K@60fps
- Support Dual stream decoding for 2K@30fps each
Ultra-low power Voice Activity Detector for audio bit-stream as a Voice Trigger
- On-chip Audio DAC
- Support DMIC and AMIC, up to 4 channels
4 x USB 3.0 ports
40 Pin GPIO Header
Gigabit Ethernet Connector
3.5 mm Audio jack

Community Images

Community VisionFive images can be downloaded here.

For now, a workaround is needed in order to boot the image after writing the image on an sd card.

Create a /boot/uEnv.txt file that contains these lines:

fdt_high=0xffffffffffffffff
initrd_high=0xffffffffffffffff

scriptaddr=0x88100000
script_offset_f=0x1fff000
script_size_f=0x1000

kernel_addr_r=0x84000000
kernel_comp_addr_r=0x90000000
kernel_comp_size=0x10000000

fdt_addr_r=0x88000000
ramdisk_addr_r=0x88300000

fdtfile=starfive/jh7100-starfive-visionfive-v1.dtb

bootcmd=load mmc 0:1 0xa0000000 /EFI/BOOT/bootriscv64.efi; bootefi 0xa0000000
bootcmd_mmc0=devnum=0; run mmc_boot

Edit /boot/grub2/grub.cfg file and add this line in the menuentry (after $linux):

devicetree /boot/dtb/starfive/jh7100-starfive-visionfive-v1.dtb

Firmware update

The first-stage bootloader offers a serial menu that allows flashing bootloaders via serial (xmodem).

Cf. https://rvspace.org/en/Product/VisionFive/Technical_Documents/VisionFive_Single_Board_Computer_Quick_Start_Guide#appendix-b-updating-firmware-and-u-boot

Manual installation

Open SBI

You will need to update the boot loader firmware on your VisionFive to be able to boot a mainline based kernel. The image (opensbi-starfivejh7100visionfivesmode.img) needs to be extracted from the file opensbi-starfivejh7100visionfivesmode.tar.gz. To write the binary to the board you need a xmodem connection (e.g. use minicom). Interrupt the first timeout before OpenSBI on the board gets booted. Alternatively, the firmware can be updated via TFTP. More information can be found here.

TBD