Sipeed's $17 LycheeRV Board Has Allwinner RISC-V Processor

The Siphee LycheeRV
(Image credit: Sipee)

The Allwinner D1 RISC-V processor has turned up again, this time forming the core of the $17 LicheeRV from Sipeed, a tiny computer module with a curious form factor, as spotted by CNX Software.

The Siphee LycheeRV

(Image credit: Sipee)

Measuring just 46.2 x 25mm, the board sees the CPU, running at 1 GHz, backed by 512MB of DDR3 RAM. It looks rather like a RAM stick itself, in the vein of the older Raspberry Pi Compute Modules, but those aren’t SODIMM connectors you can see down the edge of the board - it’s two sets of 67-pin M.2 B-key connectors. 

These are built to slot straight into a docking board that will supply additional connectivity, such as HDMI, Ethernet, MIPI DSI  and GPIO access. You could use the board as it is - there's a micro SD slot, a USB-C port for power, and if you opt for the more expensive model, an extra $5, you can add a 1.14in magnetic SPI display.

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Docking boards should be with us next month, according to Sipeed’s Twitter account, along with a version with GPIO pin support. Compatible operating systems include Tina and Debian Linux, and the LycheeRV is available from AliExpress now.

Ian Evenden
Freelance News Writer

Ian Evenden is a UK-based news writer for Tom’s Hardware US. He’ll write about anything, but stories about Raspberry Pi and DIY robots seem to find their way to him.