BlackParrot is a Linux-capable, cache-coherent RISC-V multicore, designed for efficiency and ease of use. In this talk, we will provide an architectural overview of BlackParrot, focusing on the design principles and development process as well as the software and hardware ecosystems surrounding the core. We will also discuss the project roadmap and our plans to engage the open-source community. Last, we will demonstrate a multithreaded RISC-V program running on top of Linux on a multicore BlackParrot FPGA implementation.
BlackParrot aims to be the default open-source, Linux-capable, cache-coherent, RV64GC multicore used by the world. Although originally developed by the University of Washington and Boston University, BlackParrot strives to be community-driven and infrastructure agnostic, a core which is Pareto optimal in terms of power, performance, area and complexity. In order to ensure BlackParrot is easy to use, integrate, modify and most importantly trust, development is guided by three core principles: Be Tiny, Be Modular, and Be Friendly. Development efforts have prioritized ease of use and silicon validation as first order design metrics, so that users can quickly get started and trust that their results will be representative of state-of-the-art ASIC designs. BlackParrot is ideal as the basis for a research platform, a lightweight accelerator host or as a standalone Linux core.