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Size Matters: The initial Raspberry Pi Pico was launched in January 2021 as the very first Raspberry Pi board based upon a single microcontroller chip style. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is now releasing an enhanced variation of the gadget, including unanticipated abilities and resolving a long-observed absence of information security.
The Raspberry Pi Pico 2 is based upon the RP2350 microcontroller, costs simply one dollar more than the initial Raspberry Pi Pico, and uses a greater core clock speed, double the memory, more effective Arm cores, and other upgrades you would get out of an enhanced hardware style. The brand-new board likewise consists of 2 extra RISC-V cores that are based upon the Hazard3 open-source style, which, according to Raspberry Pi co-founder Eben Upton, is a completely brand-new advancement for the structure.
The brand-new Raspberry Pi Pico maintains compatibility with earlier variations while providing a “substantial” general efficiency increase. The chip now includes 2 Cortex-M33 Arm cores, which feature extra computing components such as FPU and DSP.
Hazard3 carries out the RV32I guideline set, implying that the cores support the base 32-bit RISC-V ISA guidelines. Upton mentioned that Raspberry Pi intends to offer designers with a steady and well-supported environment for the RISC-V ISA, and Raspberry Pi boards are definitely a tried-and-tested innovation in the ingrained, DIY, and commercial microcontroller/SBC markets.
The Hazard3 style was established by Luke Wren, among Raspberry Pi's ASIC engineers, in his extra time. Upton mentioned that RISC-V, and the Hazard3 execution in specific, can now be thought about a fully grown chip innovation worthwhile of combination into Raspberry Pi styles. The Hazard3 cores are “optional,” suggesting that designers should pick in between RISC-V and Arm at boot time. Surprisingly, a combined setup of one Arm Cortex-M33 core and one RISC-V Hazard3 core can likewise be utilized.
The RP2350 microcontroller embedded in the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 board presents a “detailed security architecture,” with assistance for Arm's TrustZone innovation, a safe boot ROM, and more. Consumers were apparently disappointed with the absence of security functions on the initial microcontroller (RP2040), as they were not able to safeguard their exclusive code from spying eyes or external reverse engineering efforts.
The Raspberry Pi Pico 2 is priced at $5 per system, while the initial board was $4. Lone designers are not likely to be worried about the small boost, however business buying microcontrollers wholesale may be more mindful. Upton thinks that the extra security functions, integrated with the improved efficiency of the RP2350 chip, will make the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 an appealing alternative for lots of commercial, IoT, and ingrained applications.
