AI-enabled TWS development kit speeds up product development

Knowles Corp. has introduced an AI-enabled true wireless stereo (TWS) development platform that helps shorten product development from entry-level to premium applications. The TWS development kit includes pre-tuned and pre-configured earbuds designed by Knowles and paired with a Bluetooth-enabled processing platform.

(Source: Knowles)

The earbuds are designed with Knowles’ SiSonic MEMS microphone arrays, voice vibration sensors, and a choice of premium speaker driver assemblies with Knowles’ Balanced Armatures. Driver options include a hybrid driver with a Knowles balanced armature tweeter and a dynamic woofer, and Knowles’ smallest full-range balanced armature driver, targeting discreet form factor TWS devices.

Knowles worked with multiple partners to integrate premium features in the development kit, which enable manufacturers to add features such as active noise cancellation (ANC), ambient mode, high definition (HD) audio, voice command, voice call algorithms, and AI-enabled conversation enhancement.

The processing platform is at the core of the TWS development kit, said Knowles, consisting of the Knowles IA8201 AISonic audio edge processor, optimized for advanced voice and audio processing, and Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation’s CXD 3781 Codec paired with a premium Bluetooth audio system on chip (SoC) to enable immersive experiences and noise filtering. (The IA8201 audio edge processor also is incorporated in Knowles’ recently released AISonic Bluetooth Standard Solution development kit that enables voice integration into any Bluetooth-connected device.)

(Source: Knowles)

Enabling premium voice pickup, the kit also includes Alango Technologies’ Voice Communication Package (VCP) with multi-microphone beamforming, and its OnlyVoice technology, which intelligently combines external beamforming with internal sensor-based voice processing, which are both ported to the IA8201 processor.

Also included in the TWS kit is AITransparency+ from Chatable – the first AI specifically designed to leverage the next-generation AI processing capabilities of the IA8201 AISonic processor for “Conversation Enhancement.” AITransparency+ also features advanced, on-chip, proprietary deep neural network architectures performing over one hundred million AI calculations per second. This enables selective acoustic enhancement of conversational speech signals without perceptible latency, said Knowles.

The development platform also offers flexibility by allowing manufacturers to test their own configurations with detachable earbuds, integrate advanced features, and tune for performance and power consumption, said Knowles. The kit also allows for customization, enabling manufacturers to leverage pre-tuned algorithms from Knowles’ partners or tune their own algorithms for other use cases.