Qualcomm to produce Bluetooth chips with the Alexa wake word built in.


 

Alexa Will Be Built Into Millions Of Future Devices

Qualcomm today announced that Sensory Inc. and Rubidium Ltd., members of the Qualcomm eXtension program, are now offering support for the Alexa wake word on certain Qualcomm Bluetooth Audio system-on-chips (SoCs). The new ability will be in the CSR8670 and CSR8675  chips and are some of the most popular Bluetooth chip sets for audio.

This deep hardware based integration of  Alexa will allow manufacturers to integrate the Alexa wake word capabilities into Bluetooth products such as headphones, speakers, hearables and fitness accessories. After the wake word is detected the manufacturers device can pass the user’s spoken request to Alexa through an app on their mobile phone or other device.  This uses a part of the Bluetooth spec that presents for  ‘barge-in’ use cases, allowing a Bluetooth device to recognize and respond to the wake word while music is playing.

The CSR8670 and CSR8675 SoCs include:

  • Bluetooth 3.0 (Bluetooth 4.0 compatible)
  • 16Mb embedded flash memory (64bit wide)
  • Support for up to 64Mb external serial flash (optional)
  • Dual-core architecture with Integrated applications processor and an ultra low-power DSP coprocessor
  • RF Performance: Tx:+10dBm, Rx -90dBm
  • Integrated high performance stereo codec
  • Support for capacitive touch sensors
  • Integrated Li-Ion Battery Charger

The CSR’s next-generation audio system SoC solution with wireless connectivity, embedded flash memory and integrated capacitive touch sensors. CSR8670 will enable the creation of feature rich home entertainment and wearable audio products with a highly compelling user experience and superior audio performance. CSR8670 is software-portable from CSR’s popular BlueCore5-Multimedia platform, enabling easy migration of a broad range of CSR eXtension partner solutions, thereby facilitating rapid time-to-market deployment of a broad portfolio of consumer electronics products.

These are veer powerful yet low power chip sets.

~—~

~—~

A Significant Turn Of Events

This is a very significant turn of events for two reasons:

  1. Qualcomm will be produce tens of millions of these SoCs in 2017 alone with the potential to have Alexa integrated in a significant number.
  2. Having wake word scanning built into the low energy CSR8670 and CSR8675 SoCs means that the battery drain impact will be order of magnitude lower than using a devices ARM chip.

The strategy of including integrated wake word support for Alexa general SoC Bluetooth audio chipset is profound brilliance. This means that the opportunity for Alexa to be built into future devices with a very small software and hardware impact it extremely likely.  This means we will soon find Alexa in millions of headphones, appliances, clock radios, automobiles, door locks and just about any other type of device one could imagine.

It has been my postulation that 50% of all human to computer interactions will be via a Voice First system over the next 10 years.  With the deep integration of Alexa on hundreds of millions of Qualcomm SoCs, this is yet another way we will get there sooner than later.  Voice First will be everywhere.

___

[1] Press Release

[2] Data Sheet

 

~—~

~—~





Subscribe ($99) or donate by Bitcoin.

Copy address: bc1q9dsdl4auaj80sduaex3vha880cxjzgavwut5l2

Send your receipt to Love@ReadMultiplex.com to confirm subscription.



Subscribe to this site, ReadMultiplex.com. This is not for paid site membership or to access member content. To become a member, please choose "Join Us" on the main menu.

Loading
“Abraxas

IMPORTANT: Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. We are not financial advisors, nor do we give personalized financial advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the publisher and are subject to change without notice. It may become outdated, and there is no obligation to update any such information. Recommendations should be made only after consulting with your advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of any company in question. You shouldn’t make any decision based solely on what you read here. Postings here are intended for informational purposes only. The information provided here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Information here does not endorse any specific tests, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on this site. Reliance on any information provided, employees, others appearing on this site at the invitation of this site, or other visitors to this site is solely at your own risk.

Copyright Notice:

All content on this website, including text, images, graphics, and other media, is the property of Read Multiplex or its respective owners and is protected by international copyright laws. We make every effort to ensure that all content used on this website is either original or used with proper permission and attribution when available. However, if you believe that any content on this website infringes upon your copyright, please contact us immediately using our 'Reach Out' link in the menu. We will promptly remove any infringing material upon verification of your claim. Please note that we are not responsible for any copyright infringement that may occur as a result of user-generated content or third-party links on this website. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property rights.