XMOS announces xcore®-voice: the next generation of intelligent solutions for a wide range of intelligent voice applications

XMOS announces xcore®-voice: the next generation of intelligent solutions for a wide range of intelligent voice applications

Bristol, UK, April 3, 2023 - XMOS, an expert in artificial intelligence processing chips, today announced the launch of a full set of voice solutions based on the xcore platform hardware, software and tools - xcore-voice . The solution uses XMOS's industry-proven audio front-end processing, combined with far-field pickup and third-party ISV voice algorithm support, to provide a complete far-field pickup and voice pre-processing reference solution.

This versatile platform can simplify the workload of voice pre-processing and release more chip computing resources, allowing product designers to quickly and economically deliver voice interfaces while achieving the best audio quality. The Xcore-voice solution has a built-in one-stop example design, which fully utilizes the processor function through the xcore platform software and provides standardized modules for various applications.

xcore-voice is based on XMOS' third-generation xcore architecture xcore.ai, which deploys the company's far-field voice processing algorithms in a cost-effective and customizable software package. The platform has the following three advantages:

Power consumption: xcore-voice uses a low-power architecture to minimize power consumption. By providing a true standby mode, xcore-voice can achieve the "always-on" functionality required by many modern electronic products at less than 55mW of power and comply with EU energy conservation regulations.

Performance: xcore-voice provides XMOS industry-recognized high-performance far-field algorithms while the software package also enables flexible voice processing, allowing customer customization and functional upgrades. Both application-specific software (e.g., tunable algorithms) and core application software (e.g., FreeRTOS) are provided to customers.

Flexibility: xcore-voice's versatile DSP, AI and IO processing combination can be customized in software, significantly reducing the time to market for custom applications. While simplifying the integration path for designers, it still provides a complete BOM optimized solution for one-stop integration.

Crucially, the xcore-voice platform provides an interface that enables local command recognition, minimizing the need for the cloud, which not only enables a better user experience through lower latency and enhanced user privacy protection, but also further reduces cost and power requirements in product design. This is expected to usher in a new era of voice-based user experience for the next generation of "smart" electronic products.

Thanks to the inherent performance and flexibility of xcore-voice, the platform can be deployed in a wide variety of home electronic products, including: home appliances, smart TVs and speakers, smart lighting and power switches, fitness equipment, consumer toys and smart home gateways.

Aneet Chopra, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at XMOS , commented: “As consumers we become more accustomed to using voice technology in our daily lives, we are becoming more aware of its limitations. To avoid falling behind the competition, product designers need to be able to deliver the highest quality ‘whole-home’ voice interfaces without sacrificing speed to market or cost.”

He added: “xcore-voice is purpose-built to meet this challenge. We’ve enabled a high degree of customization in such a cost-effective and energy-efficient package, allowing designers to accelerate development without sacrificing quality. This means we can provide designers with the ability to balance experimental exploration with high-speed design to address a rapidly changing market, while also protecting the privacy of the end user.”

xcore-voice will be officially launched on April 15, 2023. The voice evaluation kit XK-VOICE-L71 and Explorer development board evaluation kit XK-EVK-XU316 are available on Digi-Key's official website.