The SHRIKE-lite Combines an FPGA and RP2040 for Just $4
The $4 SHRIKE-lite pairs a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller with a Renesas FPGA for high-performance, low-cost prototyping.
Everyone who spends enough time playing around with electronics will eventually come to the point where single-board computers and microcontrollers cannot get the job done. If a project requires massive processing parallelization or ultra-low latency performance, an FPGA is going to be a much better choice. That can be a very complex and expensive world to get into, however. As such, it is always wise for the hobbyist to be on the lookout for inexpensive and accessible FPGA development boards that are suitable for a wide range of applications.
One such board, called the SHRIKE-lite, has just been released. The SHRIKE-lite is especially interesting for those new to FPGAs, because it is equipped with not only a very capable chip in the Renesas SLG47910V FPGA, but it also sports a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller. A 6-bit channel was built into the design to allow for communication between the FPGA and microcontroller, so processing can occur on both chips, as needed, to complement one another’s strengths.
The FPGA packs a respectable 1,120 five-input LUTs and has 14 exposed GPIO pins. The microcontroller has an additional 23 GPIO pins and everyone’s favorite 32-bit dual-core ARM Cortex-M0+ processor that can be overclocked far beyond the 200 MHz that it is rated for. Aside from that, the board has a minimalistic design to keep costs low. There is a QSPI flash chip for configuration and storage, a pair of LEDs, and a USB-C connector for power and programming.
The entire software toolchain for the board is open source, so it should be supported for some time to come. That is important, because without a way to program the device, it would quickly wind up at the bottom of your spare parts bin, never again to reemerge.
The SHRIKE-lite is extremely inexpensive, coming in at just $4. But depending on where you are in the world, shipping might bite you. There is a $28 shipping fee to get this board to the US, so count the costs before you click the order button. Hopefully better distribution methods will be established in the future, because the SHRIKE-lite sure would be nice to have on hand.