CHANDLER, Ariz., Jan. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- From wearables
to smart lighting, voice control is increasingly becoming
consumers' preferred way to interact with electronics. As
developers build products of various sizes and designs to meet
consumer demand, they often have trouble scaling to meet different
Bill of Materials (BOM) and form factor requirements in end
applications. Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP), via its
Microsemi Corporation subsidiary, today announced that its
AcuEdge™ ZLK38AVS Development Kit for Amazon Alexa Voice
Service (AVS) now introduces far-field voice pick up and the
flexibility to build devices with multiple mic array
configurations. The solution reduces BOM costs while addressing the
requirements of small-form-factor designs.
As a leading audio front-end development kit with one-mic
hands-free and two or three-mic far-field configurations qualified
by Amazon, the solution features the ZL38063 audio processor which
includes a 300 MHz DSP and dedicated hardware accelerators for
voice processing. It also features Stereo Acoustic Echo
Cancellation (AEC), which enables barge-in recognition to improve
the consumer experience in extreme audio playback environments.
With the flexibility to work with a variety of microphone
options and configurations, Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs)
and third-party developers can use the development kit to cost
effectively achieve their design criteria across a range of
applications and form-factor constraints. Available microphone
configurations include:
- One-mic configuration – Offers hands-free voice
coverage for products where form-factor or cost constraints
preclude the use of a multi-microphone array.
- Two and three-mic linear (180-degree)
configurations – Designed for sound bars, smart plugs and
switches, set-top-boxes or other applications typically positioned
against a wall that benefit from 180-degree far-field
coverage.
- Three-mic triangular (360-degree) configuration – Also
with far-field coverage qualified by Amazon, this configuration is
well suited for applications that may require user interaction from
any direction such as portable speakers, wide-angle IP cameras and
voice-enabled Wi-Fi® routers.
The development kit enables far-field speech recognition in the
presence of interfering noise sources, including device playback
and external noise sources. The field-programmable,
field-upgradable solution features signal processing algorithms
proven to improve both local trigger detection performance and
cloud speech recognition accuracy, while the multi-microphone
configurations include Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation to
indicate where the primary voice sound source is located.
"Voice-enabled devices have become immensely popular and
continue to gain traction in a variety of end-applications, from
home automation controllers to set-top boxes," said Steve Caldwell, vice president of Microchip's
Wireless Solutions Group. "The ZLK38AVS Development Kit provides
the flexibility required to scale the audio front end across
products lines while enabling exceptional performance in adverse
audio environments."
Development Tools
The development kit includes a
ZL38063 audio processor that connects directly to a Raspberry
Pi® 3B with plastics and mounting hardware to
simulate a typical, recommended end-application mic-speaker
arrangement. It supports all microphone options and includes an LED
ring to report the detected sound location, as well as a
high-quality speaker that is representative of a typical smart
speaker application. Microchip has audio labs and tuning facilities
located worldwide that support customers from design through Amazon
certification.
Pricing and Availability
The ZLK38AVS Development Kit
for Amazon AVS is available today for $299. For additional information, contact a
Microchip sales representative or visit Microsemi's website.
Resources
High-res images available through Flickr or
editorial contact (feel free to publish):
- Development kit image:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/microchiptechnology/32537747568/
About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc.
is a leading provider of microcontroller, analog, FPGA,
connectivity and power management semiconductors. Its easy-to-use
development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable
customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while
lowering total system cost and time to market. The company's
solutions serve more than 130,000 customers across the industrial,
automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications and
computing markets. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers
outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and
quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at
www.microchip.com.
Note: The Microchip name and logo, and the Microchip logo,
are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in
the U.S.A. and other countries.
All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their
respective companies.
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SOURCE Microchip Technology Inc.