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Sensory and Wolfson Offer Low Power Speech Recognition Mobile Solution

By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor

Today, advances in speech recognition technology have made voice user interfaces absolute “must have” features in mobile phones. But, this technology still requires a touch to activate (which can be difficult if the user has their hands full), can be dangerous while driving, and can risk using up the device's battery.

Luckily, Wolfson and Sensory have come up with a solution that is “truly hands free” with extremely low power consumption. Wolfson Microelectronics (News - Alert), a provider of high performance mixed-signal semiconductors and audio solutions, and Sensory, a provider of speech technologies including interactive voice response (IVR), have together introduced Sensory's TrulyHandsfreeVoice Control and audio detect front-end on Wolfson's low power platforms for mobile phone audio channel processing.

"Sensory and Wolfson have created an unparalleled solution for ultra-low power high accuracy speech recognition on portable devices,” said Bill Teasley, VP of Engineering at Sensory, in a statement. “Mobile phones can now include voice control, intelligent voice search and utilize voice assistants without the user having to touch the phone or wear down the battery."

Whether in your home, office or on the go, Wolfson's technology is at the center of many digital consumer goods including Hi-Fi equipment, mobile phones, tablet computers, MP3 players, flat panel TVs, digital still cameras and portable navigation devices. Additionally, Sensory offers IC and software-only solutions for speech recognition, speech synthesis, speaker verification, music synthesis and much more.

This combination of embedded software and DSP technologies enables high performance for voice activation and hands-free mobile device operation. Wolfson and Sensory have implemented Sensory's TrulyHandsfree on Wolfson's WM5110 HD Audio System on a Chip (SoC), as well as on Wolfson's WM0010 and WM0011 digital signal processor (DSP) products. The WM5110, with DSP, is a highly efficient HD Audio Processors on the market, delivering HD Audio performance to portable consumer electronics devices.

Moreover, the WM5110, or Wolfson's WM0010 and WM0011 products, combined with Sensory's TrulyHandsfree solution, delivers speed, accuracy and reliability in a small footprint, with minimal impact to handset standby time, enabling an 'always on’ experience.

"This technology from Wolfson and Sensory represents a crucial breakthrough in the way that voice control for mobile phones is used, removing the need to activate it through touch and ensuring that it becomes a successful communication solution in real-world situations,” commented Rash Sahota, VP of Audio Solutions at Wolfson Microelectronics.

Wolfson's compelling audio demonstrations will be shown at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 25th-28th, on stand 2A62, hall 2.