Audio processor boasts four cores to bolster voice-enabled designs

A new audio processor from Knowles features four heterogeneous cores and 5.7 MB of shared memory for voice-powered devices such as mobile phones, ear-worn wearables, smart speakers, TVs, and appliances.
The IA8508 audio processor is aimed at both near- and far-field voice applications that can operate even in high-noise environments. It comprises high-performance, power-efficient audio cores that are optimized for the most challenging voice-interaction use cases.

Furthermore, to bring contextual awareness and recognition capabilities to voice interactions, Knowles has optimized its new audio processor for machine learning through deep neural network (DNN) hardware acceleration. Knowles claims that its IA8508 audio processor can perform specific machine-learning tasks 10 times more efficiently than competing chips.

How do the four heterogeneous processors in IA8508 address the audio design needs for a variety of use cases? First and foremost is performance, which demands powerful computing and sophisticated algorithms to facilitate features such as acoustic echo cancellation (AEC), dynamic beam-forming, steering, sound classification, and noise suppression.

The IA8508 supports an array of up to eight microphones; its four heterogeneous cores are capable of simultaneously running high-performance algorithms while leveraging the 5.7 MB of memory.

Next, most audio applications require low-latency real-time processing, especially in active noise cancellation and asynchronous sample rate conversion for mixing of various audio signal sources. The IA8508 has an optimized single sample processor (SSP) core that guarantees low latency.

Power consumption is also a vital factor because voice user interfaces require always-listening devices. The IA8508 audio processor features a low-power core to listen to a variety of key phrases concurrently. And while the Hemi-Delta (HMD) core is tailored to guarantee low-power dynamic processing, proprietary memory architecture and dynamic voltage scaling guarantee low standby power consumption.

Finally, the IA8508 audio chip includes an industry-standard ARM Cortex M4 core for general-purpose controller capability, allowing for immediate porting of the legacy solutions.