Why RISC-V is a viable option for safety-critical applications

By Jay Thomas, technical development manager, LDRA
EDN (February 14, 2025)

An intro to RISC-V

As safety-critical systems become increasingly complex, the choice of processor architecture plays an important role in ensuring functional safety and system reliability. Consider an automotive brake-by-wire system, where sensors detect the pedal position, software interprets the driver’s intent, and electronic controls activate the braking system. Or commercial aircraft relying on flight control computers to interpret pilot inputs and maintain stable flight. Processing latencies or failures in these systems could result in unintended behaviors and degraded modes, potentially leading to fatal accidents.

The RISC-V architecture’s inherent characteristics—modularity, simplicity, and extensibility—align with the demands of functional safety standards like ISO 26262 for automotive applications and DO-178C for aviation software. Unlike proprietary processor architectures, RISC-V is an open standard instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by the University of California, Berkeley, in 2011. The architecture follows reduced instruction set computing (RISC) principles, emphasizing performance and modularity in processor design.

RISC-V is set apart by its open, royalty-free nature combined with a clean-slate design that eliminates the legacy compatibility constraints of traditional architectures. The ISA is structured as a small base integer set with optional extensions, allowing processor designers to implement only the features needed for their specific applications.

This article examines the technical advantages and considerations of implementing RISC-V in safety-critical environments.

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