Shakti, A Micro Processor Made In India Enters World Market

India has now entered the microprocessor business for the global market. (photo credit: Michael Dziedzic/unsplash)

JAKARTA - India's 'Shakti' microcomputer processor will be available to technicians worldwide, in the near future, enabling IT professionals to design their own embedded systems. This was made possible thanks to a collaboration between IIT Madras, which designed and developed Shakti, and US-based global technology company Altair.

An embedded system is a small device that forms part of a larger system and whose purpose is to control the system as well as interact with users. Embedded systems have only one or a limited number of tasks they can perform.

For more than three decades, Altair Embed has been a reliable platform for developing algorithms for complex embedded systems. It offers thousands of pre-built models covering a wide range of engineering disciplines.

The Altair Embed supports more than 1200 microcontrollers and processors from leading vendors, including Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi. India's microprocessor, Shakti, also joins this list.

Shakti processors are industrial-grade processors intended for embedded applications, robot controllers, and Internet of Things boards. By supporting Shakti processors, Altair Embed expands its presence in developing embedded firmware for internet-connected devices.

India's first native RISC-V processor, 'Shakti', is supported by the country's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Pratap Subrahmanyam Center for Digital Intelligence and Secure Hardware Architecture.

It is intended to promote the development of original products that offer best-in-class security and visibility for users adopting RISC-V technology.

Professor V. Kamakoti, from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras, explained that every embedded system consists of a microprocessor and software running on the same thing.

He added that the collaboration between the Institute and the Altair platform provides a framework for developing software so that it can be executed on Shakti processors.

“This enables rapid translation of ideas into work systems for embedded systems-driven industries and particularly startups. We expect a significant increase in the use of Shakti based on this collaboration", he told WION.