Laird Connectivity Changes Name to Ezurio

Laird Connectivity, a recognized wireless technology supplier, announce it has rebranded as Ezurio. For decades, Laird Connectivity and Boundary Devices have provided industry-renowned expertise in wireless product design and embedded processor development. Now the company entered a new chapter building on that foundation as Ezurio, continuing forward with all current portfolios of products and services.

Laird Connectivity announced the Nitrogen93 in a smart mobility architecture (SMARC) form factor, expanding the system-on-module portfolio conforming to the SMARC industry standard and offering a solution that utilizes both processor and wireless silicon from NXP. The Nitrogen93 is powered by NXP's i.MX 93 processor, NXP PMIC PCA9451A, and Laird' Sona NX611 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.3 radio based on NXP’s IW611. An ideal platform to create smart home and smart building control solutions.

Synaptics launched an interesting new AI System on Module (SoM) at electronica 2022. KatanaConnect combines the Katana low-power Edge AI SoC with Wi-Fi / Bluetooth wireless connectivity in an ultra-small-form-factor package to deliver AI-enabled computer vision and audio sensing capabilities. The SoM, developed with leading module vendor AMPAK, is a ready-to-use solution that enables rapid implementation of AI sensing features for connected designs targeting a range of applications, including smart home and security, and many others.

OKdo, the company that is part of RS Group, one of the largest global electronics omni-channel distributors, announced an exclusive partnership with Radxa, a leading design service provider, to manufacture and distribute ROCK Single Board Computers (SBCs) and ROCK System-on-Modules (SoMs). With the announcement, OKdo pivots its strategy to offer a powerful solution to the ongoing supply chain crisis to the engineering community.

As the embedded market continues to grow rapidly and evolve, developers are seeking to optimize product development, or they may need to transition from a microcontroller (MCU) to a microprocessor (MPU) to handle increased processing requirements. The new Microchip system-on-module SAM9X60D1G-SOM is an ARM926EJ-S-based embedded MPU running up to 600 MHz with software available with bare metal or RTOS support, and complete Linux mainlined distributions.

DSP Concepts and StreamUnlimited are working together to support audio product development with a new reference design that offers advanced voice control features. DSP Concepts offers its Audio Weaver and TalkTo software development tools for StreamUnlimited's established range of hardware modules, including the latest Stream1955 next generation System-On-Module based on the latest NXP Quad Core SoC. The platform offers support for all major voice assistants.

For this edition of The Audio Voice, I intended to focus a bit more on the latest developments in the fascinating world of sensors and how it impacts product development and design in all applications areas, particularly in consumer electronics, automotive, and health applications. After writing previously about Apple - the sensors on the Apple Watch and the surprising firmware updates for the AirPod Pro earbuds - I really didn't want to go back to Apple. But as always, Apple has a way of surprising us exactly when we least expected, and the company made another important audio announcement.