XMOS voice processor targets smart home devices

British chip company XMOS has launched the XVF3610 and XVF3615 voice processors.

These devices are intended for next generation high-performance two-mic voice interfaces for wireless speakers, TVs, set-top boxes, smart home appliances and gateway products.

Using the company’s xcore.ai chip infrastructure, the XVF3610 and XVF3615 offer cost-effective and easy-to-integrate voice processing solutions. The designs mark an evolution of the XVF3510 voice processor already used within Amazon Alexa systems, and provide powerful audio echo cancellation (AEC) and interference cancellation algorithms to suppress noise from dominant sources and enable cross-room barge-in.

The XVF3610 and XVF3615 also include automatic audio reference delay calibration – a critical capability for voice enabled TV systems – expanding the range of devices and environments where voice interfaces can be implemented.

The XVF3615 adds embedded Amazon wakeword for single pass Alexa enabled systems, allowing manufacturers to offload wakeword processing from their host SoC systems. The product will be available in distribution in January 2022.

In an additional development in the range of voice solutions offered by XMOS, the company has also announced the launch of an alpha phase for targeted customers for the all new ‘Avona’ voice reference design. Leveraging the flexibility of the xcore.ai platform, Avona has been developed to provide a customisable reference design for voice, wakeword, speech-to-intent and intelligent voice applications.

Targeted at intelligent IoT applications, Avona allows engineers to incorporate keyword, event detection or advanced local dictionary support to create a complete voice interface solution. Partners and customers can also develop their own voice-based solutions using the xcore software development kit (SDK).

Programmed In C or C++, and incorporating a FreeRTOS environment for user application code, the xcore SDK supports both bare-metal and RTOS use, offering customers total flexibility and the ability to add bespoke differentiation for the end product. The reference design will be made generally available in early 2022.

Mark Lippett, CEO, XMOS, said: “The IoT market is creating new verticals and opportunities at breakneck speed, and we are seeing significant demand within the smart home. As more applications become commercially attractive or viable, engineers and designers need to be able to rely on hardware that offers agility and cost-effective performance without compromise on quality. Our new range of voice solutions deliver another weapon in their arsenal when it comes to voice control, enabling designers to continue to push the boundaries of voice innovation in the smart home and beyond.”