Sondrel Unveils Edge Computing IP Platform for Smart Devices

Sondrel has created a powerful, quad core IP platform that is ideal for ASIC solutions for remote gathering and processing of video and data at the Edge with secure onwards transmission of the results. The SFA 200 reference design is targeted at battery powered applications in Smart Home, Sensor Fusion, voice-control, and other devices where a compact chip can add processing ‘smarts’ by providing local end-point data processing for data collection and analysis along with inference processing.

For those product categories that require simple voice interfaces completely implemented on-device, or for developers at the testing stages of a new voice UI, there is now a fast, free and flexible solution. Sensory, the Silicon Valley company pioneering AI at the edge and the de facto standard for enabling a voice UI on apps and devices, unveiled VoiceHub, a new online portal that enables developers to quickly create wake word models and voice control command sets for prototyping and proof-of-concept purposes.

Imagimob, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden, developing artificial intelligence products for edge devices, announced a new SaaS solution that accelerates time to market for edge devices by converting h5 formatted AI models into ultra-efficient C-code in a matter of seconds — a process that once took weeks to complete. The new Imagimob Edge solution requires no programming skills and targets processing and interpreting sensor data in real time using trained models, a critical application in wearables and all sorts of connected devices.

IFA 2020, in Berlin, Germany, was "the first major global fair for consumer and home electronics" to physically take place since the pandemic. This limited push to promote a trade show again, lead some major consumer electronics companies and brands to converge their announcements in the week from September 1-5, with showcases streamed to the world live from the Berlin exhibition grounds. Some announcements were relevant to the audio industry and included the Qualcomm press conference, which used the opportunity to launch its latest Adaptive ANC platform, an important step towards smart true wireless earbuds.

Alexa! OK Google! Hey Siri! Did we get your attention? If we were to have read that aloud most of us would have our favorite robot voice asking us what we want. Whether it is Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or another assistant, voice commands are the logical next step in user interfaces (UI). The uptake in the market has been extremely good for these devices. However, deployment has exposed some major issues with this technology. In this article I'm going to discuss the Syntiant NDP 10x processor and how it solves the aforementioned challenges.