• In the Second National RISC-V Student Contest jointly organised by Thales, the SOC2¹ research network and the CNFM², three teams of students received awards in Strasbourg on 28 June for their solution to reduce the power consumption of the CORE-V CVA6 processor, an open source RISC-V processor developed by the OpenHW Group.
• Thales is also organising an internal Open Source Hardware Contest focusing on drones, neural interfaces and high data-rate communications, and will publish the results later in 2022.
• RISC-V is an open standard instruction set architecture (ISA) that has gained popularity in recent years. It is used to run complex software on a processor in a vendor-agnostic hardware environment, reducing cost of access and enabling customers to regain their technological sovereignty.

Thales handed awards to three teams of students in Strasbourg on 28 June for their solution to reduce the power consumption of the CORE-V CVA6 processor.

 

The Second National RISC-V Student Contest co-sponsored by Thales and the Group's internal Open Source Hardware Contest are both contributing to the growing momentum in the open hardware field. The open hardware concept is helping to drive co-innovation across broad communities of developers, increase transparency between the multiple stakeholders, bring down costs and shorten development cycles. The overarching objective of the open hardware movement is to provide development teams with added flexibility in an increasingly agile and competitive environment.

Thales's initiatives are fully aligned with European policy objectives of (i) creating a sovereign open hardware ecosystem to build Europe's microprocessor design and manufacturing capabilities and (ii) promoting the use of these technologies in current and future markets including the automotive industry, industrial automation, communications, data infrastructure, healthcare and defence. While the Chips Act proposed by the European Commission offers a roadmap for sustainable production of latest-generation semiconductors, open hardware is helping to secure technological sovereignty and resilience in order to shield Europe from disruptions in hardware supply chains.

Bernhard Quendt,Chief Technology Officer, Thales:“Open hardware is a pillar of Thales's innovation strategy, alongside artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, connectivity and cybersecurity. We are determined to support any initiative that brings greater autonomy, sovereignty and flexibility to the development of customer solutions, because we believe those attributes are key differentiators in the defence and security markets we serve."

As a member of the Eclipse Foundation, the Linux Foundation (since 2017) and RISC-V International (since 2018), Thales ranks among the major European players in the open source movement and is committed to promoting the adoption and implementation of open source, royalty-free hardware and software architectures. Through its involvement in open hardware and the broader open source movement, Thales has been committed to open, collaborative design and development practices for more than 15 years.

 

Visit the Thales Science page on LinkedIn

 

¹The SOC² research network coordinated by France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) includes over 50 laboratories studying new approaches to the design and validation of embedded systems for connected objects and drawing on complex System on Chip (SoC) integrated circuits or new integrative processes. https://www.gdr-soc.cnrs.fr/

²GIP CNFM (Groupement d'Intérêt Public pour la Coordination Nationale de la Formation en Micro-électronique et en nanotechnologies) is a public interest group set up to pool education and research resources in the field of microelectronics and nanotechnologies. http://www.cnfm.fr/

 

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations — connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing — to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The company provides solutions, services and products that help its customers —businesses, organisations and states — in the defence, aeronautics, space, transportation and digital identity and security markets to fulfil their critical missions, by placing humans at the heart of the decision-making process. ​

Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2021, the Group generated sales of €16.2 billion.

 

PRESS CONTACTS

 

Thales

Media relations

Marion Bonnet

+33 (0)6 60 38 48 92

marion.bonnet@thalesgroup.com

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