At CES 2022, CEVA announced that it has enhanced the software offerings and tool kits for its highly successful Bluebud wireless audio platform with the addition of Bluebud-HD, a pre-configured software package for the Bluebud platform, featuring immersive audio, wideband voice conversation, always-on voice assistant, assistive hearing, and IMU-based contextual awareness, all processed on the embedded CEVA-BX1 DSP.
CEVA also announced today that its SenslinQ software framework and the CEVA-BX1 DSP tool kit have been upgraded for the Bluebud platform to streamline the addition of 3rd party DSP algorithms and to facilitate the easy migration of existing software from other processor architectures. Host CPU application developers benefit from the OpenAMP API for virtualized access to the feature sets enabled by Bluebud-HD and other audio, voice and speech software available through the CEVAnet partner ecosystem.
The SenslinQ framework enables manufacturers and developers using Bluebud to consolidate all audio, voice and IMU-based contextual awareness workloads onto the CEVA-BX1 DSP rather than embedding separate DSPs for wireless and audio and results in smaller die size and lower power consumption.
Research firm Yole Développement forecasts that shipments of TWS earbuds, hearing aids, smartwatches and smart speakers will surpass 1.3 billion units annually by 2026, with premium audio becoming a must-have feature for many applications. CEVA's Bluebud wireless audio platform together with the accompanying Bluebud-HD software package provides a cost and power efficient solution for semiconductor vendors and OEMs to quickly and painlessly capitalize on the growing momentum behind the lucrative premium audio market, and overcome the high complexity and know-how required to combine wireless and audio.
"Since the launch of Bluebud last year, we have experienced tremendous interest and licensing success with this unique platform offering. On the back of this success, we are now introducing the Bluebud-HD software package which democratizes access for the semiconductor companies, ODMs and OEMs to the second largest consumer market by volume, after smartphones. The combination of the Bluebud-HD software package, the SenslinQ software framework and the CEVA-BX1 DSP tool kit encourages partners and customers using other processor architectures to standardize around Bluebud and reduce the cost, power consumption and complexity of their wireless audio solutions," says Moshe Sheier, VP Marketing of CEVA.
The Bluebud-HD software package takes advantage of the on-board CEVA-BX1 DSP to consolidate a wide range of optimized HD audio, voice and context-aware modules which are otherwise processed on separate DSPs or MCUs in non-CEVA architectures. Meanwhile, the Bluebud hardware platform has been upgraded to include CEVA’s latest SIG qualified RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.3 IP, with both Classic Audio and LE Audio, and the CEVA-BX1 audio processor, together with all the required peripherals for wireless audio, in a compact low power design, with a footprint of less than 0.5mm2 in 22nm.
Bluebud-HD also supports audio processing at 24-bit/96kHz, enabling high-resolution audio support. The fully integrated software package also includes CEVA’s ClearVox, enhanced to support up to 48kHz sampling rate, for super wideband voice conversations; VisiSonics RS3D software for immersive 3D audio experiences; CEVA’s MotionEngine Hear software for accurate head tracking, in-ear detection, and tap control; Personalized hearing tuning for adaptation to each listener’s hearing; and support for the LHDC high definition audio codec.
"The ability to solve our customers ‘pain-points’ for the development of wireless audio products and allowing them to virtualize DSP applications from the host CPU without directly programming the DSP using the SenslinQ framework, streamlines their development and further allows them to utilize the Bluebud platform for more advanced use cases. The breadth of features provided by the Bluebud-HD software solution, such as high-definition audio and voice, personalized hearing, 3D audio, and contextual awareness, is unprecedented and aligns with the most demanding use cases of top-tier audio device makers," adds Erez Bar-Niv, CTO of CEVA.
The Bluebud platform, Bluebud-HD software package and SenslinQ software framework are now available for licensing.
www.ceva-dsp.com
