XMOS launches development kit for Amazon Alexa Voice Service

　　XMOS has announced the launch of the VocalFusion 4-Mic Dev Kit for the Amazon Alexa Voice Service (AVS).

　　Said to be the first far-field linear mic array solution available on the market, the kit has been designed for developers who are looking to integrate Alexa into smart panels, kitchen appliances, and other commercial and industrial electronics.

　　The kit comprises of a compact four-microphone linear 100mm array. The captured voice signals are extremely clear even in noisy environments, enabling commands to be accurately captured from across the room for processing by the Alexa cloud-based speech recognition system.

　　According to XMOS this is the only solution to date that combines audio digital signal processing (DSP) and programmable I/O processing and control software into a single chip, enabling customers to significantly reduce their bill of materials, tailor their designs, and reduce costs.

　　The VocalFusion 4-Mic Dev Kit is the first development kit to feature a reference client built using the recently released AVS Device SDK. The AVS Device SDK is designed to simplify creating Alexa-enabled products, helping commercial device makers get AVS products to market faster.

　　Commenting Priya Abani, Director, Amazon Alexa said, “XMOS’ VocalFusion 4-Mic Dev Kit for Amazon AVS will accelerate the deployment of Alexa in deeply embedded systems, new device types, and form-factors, bringing customers more choice of where to access Alexa.”

　　At its heart the VocalFusion XVF3000, has a highly integrated far-field voice processor based on the XMOS xCORE multicore architecture. The XVF3000 delivers sophisticated voice DSP capability including a full duplex acoustic echo canceller (AEC) with barge-in capability that enables users to interrupt or pause a device that’s playing music, and sophisticated noise suppression with adaptive beamforming to provide high quality voice interaction experiences even in noisy environments.

　　According to Mark Lippett, President and CEO at XMOS, “Solutions like ours will enable developers to bring to market connected products that can be used with simplicity, in our own natural spoken language. We are working with our partners to accelerate the adoption of AVS as the voice solution of choice for the Internet of Things.”