HDClear 3-Microphone Development Kit Enables Superior Performance for AVS in Smart Speakers, Tablets, and Smart Home Products

MILPITAS, Calif., June 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DSP Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSPG), a leading global provider of wireless chipset solutions for converged communications, today announced the availability of its HDClear™ 3-Mic Development Kit for Amazon Alexa Voice Service (AVS). Featuring DBMD5, DSP Group’s advanced audio/voice processor, and its best-in-class HDClear™ voice enhancement processing technology, the new DSP Group Development Kit is a low-power solution for developers who want to quickly and easily build a range of high-accuracy Alexa-enabled devices — including smart speakers, wearable computing devices, smart home devices and remote controls — without draining the battery.

With voice assistant devices in the US predicted to grow from 450 million units in 2017 to 870 million devices in 2022, according to Juniper Research, demand for voice user interfaces (VUIs) is strong among users. Developers, in turn, want platforms that enable voice activation while maintaining extremely low power consumption and high performance. The HDClear 3-Mic Development Kit for Amazon AVS satisfies this demand. It includes three main components: a printed circuit board (PCB) with the DBMD5 audio processor, Raspberry Pi and a 3-microphone array — as well as pre-process noise-reduction, beam-forming and Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC) algorithms for enhanced voice accuracy. Operation is as simple as connecting it to a speaker and plugging it into power, reducing time to market and speeding development efforts.

The announcement is of strategic significance as well.

“The migration toward voice user interfaces marks a sea-change in users’ interactions with electronic devices,” said Ofer Elyakim, CEO, DSP Group. “Working with Amazon is a vital step forward in our steady expansion into voice user interface technologies. OEMs and ODMs can literally pick up our development kit, plug it in and begin using it to create richly featured acoustic front-ends for Amazon AVS devices — while conserving precious board space and battery life. We believe this combination will play an instrumental role in the evolution of VUIs.”

“We envision a future where customers interact with Alexa everywhere and from any device,” said Priya Abani, director, Alexa Voice Service. “We’re excited to work with DSP Group to achieve this vision and offer developers additional tools that add to the various resources they already have available to build Alexa-enabled devices.”

About DMBD5
DBMD5 is a completely autonomous, audio-centric processing solution that enables any microphone-equipped device to continuously monitor for voice trigger and process voice commands. It also supports advanced voice features that allow the device to facilitate voice calls. When integrated in smart speakers and IoT devices, DBMD5 leverages its voice enhancement algorithms to achieve more effective isolation of voice from surrounding noise, supporting effective voice gestures in almost any environment. 

Key benefits of the HDClear 3-Mic Development Kit for Amazon AVS include:

• High-Performance Voice Enhancement Capabilities – sophisticated voice algorithms including acoustic echo cancellation, noise reduction, beamforming and far-field enhancement, significantly improving the user experience and the accuracy of voice commands, particularly in high-noise environments. Without these algorithms, devices with closely coupled speakers and microphones would be inadequate for voice functions.
• Barge-In – enables detection of voice commands when audio, including music, is played by the device.
• Seamless Operation with Amazon AVS – supports Amazon Alexa wake word and fully integrates with AVS SDK to ensure seamless operation with AVS.
• Advanced Audio SoC – embedded programmable dual-core DSP supports digital and analog microphones and incorporates various application processor interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART and SLIMbus.
• Low-Power Consumption – power-optimized implementation for always-on IoT devices allows power-hungry application processors to remain in sleep mode during voice sensing, and also enables battery-powered devices to access Alexa.  Power consumption well below 1mA for Alexa wake-word detection is supported.
• Far-Field Enhancement – high performance using 3 mics, allowing flexibility for up to 360-degree voice coverage.
• Local Detection of Alexa – enables low-power detection and integration in IoT devices with small amounts of memory for wake-word detection.
• Fast Time to Market – complete suite of host processor/communications processor/MCU software drivers enables rapid development.
• Scalable – software configuration supports various types of smart speakers, digital assistants, wearable computing devices, smart home devices, remote controls, IoT devices and more, accommodating different requirements for microphones, speakers, audio flow toward the speaker(s), audio flow from the microphones, and acoustic designs.

HDClear 3-Mic Development Kit for Amazon AVS will be available at https://www.dspg.com/dspg-hdclear-3-mic-development-kit-for-amazon-avs/.

About DSP Group
DSP Group®, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSPG) is a leading global provider of wireless chipset solutions for converged communications. Delivering semiconductor system solutions with software and hardware Development Kits, DSP Group enables OEMs/ODMs, consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers and service providers to cost-effectively develop new revenue-generating products with fast time to market. At the forefront of semiconductor innovation and operational excellence for over two decades, DSP Group provides a broad portfolio of wireless chipsets integrating DECT/CAT-iq, ULE, Wi-Fi, PSTN, HDClear, video and VoIP technologies. DSP Group enables converged voice, audio, video and data connectivity across diverse mobile, consumer and enterprise products – from mobile devices, connected multimedia screens, and home automation and security to cordless phones, VoIP systems, and home gateways. Leveraging industry-leading experience and expertise, DSP Group partners with CE manufacturers and service providers to shape the future of converged communications at home, in the office and on the go. For more information, visit www.dspg.com.

The DSP Group logo is a registered trademark and HDClear is a trademark of DSP Group. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Contact
Tali Chen, CVP Corporate Development, Tel: +1(408) 240-6826, tali.chen@dspg.com