The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have jointly developed an indigenous semiconductor chip for space applications.
The ‘IRIS’ (Indigenous RISCV Controller for Space Applications) chip is based on the ‘SHAKTI’ processor. It has a range of uses, including IoT and computing systems for strategic needs. This development aims to indigenise the semiconductors used by ISRO in its applications, command and control systems, and critical functions, aligning with the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative in space technologies.
The ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) in Thiruvananthapuram proposed the 64-bit RISC-V-based Controller and collaborated with IIT Madras on the chip’s specifications and design.
Further, the chip’s configuration addresses the functional and computing needs of sensors and systems in ISRO missions. Fault-tolerant internal memories were incorporated into the SHAKTI core to improve the design’s reliability.
