Samsung Successfully Ports Tizen OS to RISC-V Architecture

Samsung has recently made a significant move by porting its Tizen OS operating system to a RISC-V core from SiFive, specifically for use in smart TVs. This development marks a strategic shift towards leveraging the capabilities of RISC-V architecture in their products.

The port of the Linux-based Tizen OS is designed to run on the 64-bit SiFive Performance P470 core, which boasts a 128-bit RISC-V Vector ALU. This configuration enables the core to deliver over 8 SpecINT2k6/GHz while remaining within similar area and power constraints as other chips utilizing an ARM A55 core.

John Ronco, senior vice president of product at SiFive, shared insights on the collaboration with Samsung Visual Display, stating, "Our partners at Samsung Visual Display discussed the work they have been doing to port the Tizen operating system to RISC-V. Tizen is an open-source operating system widely used in Samsung smart TVs, making it a logical choice to explore the potential of the rapidly growing RISC-V standard for future systems."

He further added, "They also demonstrated a TV running on RISC-V and utilizing a SiFive Performance P470 based core. Our global hardware and software teams have collaborated closely with Samsung to address the technical challenges, and today's announcement is the result of the collective efforts of both companies."

The SiFive Performance P470 64-bit RISC-V core features a three-issue, out-of-order pipeline that is optimized for scalable and highly efficient performance. Equipped with private L2 caches and a streaming prefetcher, this core enhances memory performance, thereby offering cost savings in consumer smart TVs.

Moreover, the core includes an interrupt controller that supports MSI-style interrupts and virtualization capabilities with System Level Virtualization IP. Additionally, it incorporates cache stashing to L3 for tightly coupled accelerators, indicating the potential integration of AI accelerators in future Samsung smart TVs.