Espressif's new ESP32-S31 is a dual-core RISC-V chip with WiFi 6 that can run full-featured Linux thanks to its memory management unit.
Source: Hackaday
The ESP32-S31 is a new addition to Espressif's ESP32 family of microcontrollers, which are popular for their processing power and, in most cases, built-in wireless connectivity. The chip uses a dual-core RISC-V processor and supports WiFi 6. What makes it stand out is that it can run Linux in its full form, rather than the stripped-down nommu variant, because it includes a memory management unit.
Expectations should stay modest, since the chip's resources are limited and will not deliver much in the way of computing power. Still, Espressif has a GitHub repository, and work is underway on a port of a 6.x Linux kernel, so experimenting is possible. Development boards are listed on AliExpress at a range of prices, which suggests that getting started need not be expensive.
The article sees the arrival of such a chip as a milestone, where the worlds of microcontrollers and full-featured system-on-chip devices begin to meet. This has been anticipated for some time. The author expects more chips of this kind to follow from competitors, with greater performance.
