Xilinx Artix-7 technology offers low power consumption and high performance, and its ability to host RISC-V soft architecture makes it ideal for portable equipment. The Artix-7 can also host the MicroBlaze™ soft processing system and adapt to multiple project requirements. Unlike other single board computers (SBC), Arty A7 is not bound to a single set of processing peripherals. Along with other traditional Digilent boards, the Arty A7 has four Pmod connectors and an Arduino Shield expansion connector.

Both the 100T (1286-1206-ND) and 35T (1286-1104-ND) options for the Arty A7 board offer the ability to host RISC-V, with 100T offering the most robust and scalable option. Using RISC-V offers license-free options for designers and is free to download. The Arty A7 is fully compatible with the high‐performance Vivado® design suite. It is supported under the free WebPACK™ license, so designs can be implemented at no additional cost. This free license includes the ability to create MicroBlaze soft‐core processor designs. Design resources, example projects, and tutorials are available for download at the Arty Resource Center, accessible from reference.digilentinc.com.