Avnet and Aaware Introduce New Sound Capture Platform to Enable Voice Interface for Artificial Intelligence Applications
January 04, 2018 at 03:00 pm
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Avnet and Aaware, Inc. introduced Aaware’s Sound Capture Platform, designed to provide product development teams with higher performance, scale and flexibility. The solution leverages Avnet’s MiniZed™ Zynq SoC development platform to improve sound capture performance for artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the smart home, industrial IoT and robotics markets. Avnet and Aaware will demonstrate the new voice interface technology at CES 2018, January 9-12 in Las Vegas, Eureka Park booth #50212 in the Sands Expo. The Aaware Sound Capture Platform integrates algorithmic acceleration technology and a flexible microphone array board with the hardware power of Avnet’s MiniZed™ Zynq SoC development and demonstration platform, using dual-core Xilinx® Zynq®-7000 All Programmable SoC devices. Aaware’s Acoustically Aware sound capture algorithms, paired with TrulyHandsfree™ wake word detection technology from Sensory, Inc., allow systems to adapt to differing noise interference, without requiring calibration for different environments or integration of the reference signal. Unlike standard sound capture platforms which typically offer only fixed microphone array configurations, the Aaware platform has a concentric circular array of 13 microphones that may be configured in different combinations, allowing for product performance tuning. The Aaware platform separates source speech (wake word) and follow-on speech from interfering noise with ultra-low distortion, allowing the system to more easily integrate with third-party speech and natural language engines. In addition, source localization data can be forwarded to downstream applications, such as video, improving the performance of sophisticated multi-sensor AI applications, including those for industrial robotics and surveillance.
Avnet, Inc. is a global electronic component technology distributor and solutions provider. The Company markets, sells, and distributes electronic components from electronic component manufacturers, including semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components, and other integrated and embedded components. Its primary operating groups include Electronic Components (EC) and Farnell. EC serves a variety of markets ranging from industrial to automotive to defense and aerospace. EC offers an array of customer support options throughout the entire product lifecycle, including turnkey and customized design, supply chain, new product introduction, programming, logistics and post-sales services. The Farnell operating group primarily supports lower-volume customers and distributes a portfolio of kits, tools, electronic components, industrial automation components, and test and measurement products to both engineers and entrepreneurs, primarily through an e-commerce channel.
AVNET, INC. 
