Using RISC-V cores on the RP2350 MCU – blinking an LED to building Linux

The Raspberry Pi Pico 2, featuring the RP2350 microcontroller, includes two Arm Cortex-M33 cores and two RISC-V "Hazard3" cores. This guide demonstrates how to utilize the RISC-V cores, comparing their performance with the Arm cores and even building a Linux environment for RISC-V on boards with PSRAM. The setup process for the RISC-V cores is similar to that of the Arm cores, with specific adjustments for the toolchain. Users can install the necessary dependencies and SDK, then compile a simple LED blinking program for both core types. The article details the installation of the C/C++ environment, the configuration of the build system, and the successful execution of the blink program on the RISC-V cores. The guide emphasizes the need for a compatible GCC version for the RISC-V cores and provides instructions for setting up the appropriate toolchain. Overall, the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 offers enhanced capabilities for embedded systems development, particularly with the integration of RISC-V architecture.

- The Raspberry Pi Pico 2 features both Arm Cortex-M33 and RISC-V cores.

- The guide provides instructions for using RISC-V cores and building Linux for compatible boards.

- Users can compile and run C programs on both core types, starting with a simple LED blink example.

- A specific GCC version is required for RISC-V development, necessitating the setup of a compatible toolchain.

- The article highlights the similarities in setup between the Arm and RISC-V cores.