MindTree Announces Availability of Acoustic Echo Cancellation Noise Reduction Algorithm on commercial grade Bluetooth Hands-free Solution

Bangalore, January 23 2005 - MindTree Consulting, a leading provider of Bluetooth Intellectual Properties (IPs) and solutions, today announced that its advanced Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Noise Reduction (AECNR) algorithm has been integrated on a commercial grade Bluetooth Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP) for hands-free units.

With increasing regulatory enforcement of hands-free usage in automobiles, coupled with the need for high quality speech without ambient noise and acoustic echo, MindTree’s ClearMind ECNR algorithm, integrated in the Bluetooth hands-free car kit, delivers a rich hearing experience to the passenger over the car audio system. Using ClearMind, MindTree’s customer saves up to two dollars per chip on costs using spare cycles on the ARM processor, and benefits from a high quality AECNR performance.

MindTree has applied for a patent in recognition of its unique software-level algorithm for ClearMind to provide continued benefits and enhancements to its valued customers.

MindTree also provides the Bluetooth baseband controller and protocol stack and software profiles for the Bluetooth chip that powers this hands-free solution. Such tight integration of complementary blocks provides MindTree customers with a highly optimized solution. In the case of another customer, ClearMind has been integrated into an ISDN terminal which again uses MindTree Bluetooth IP components.

Other applications of ClearMind include conference call equipment, IP phones, VoIP gateways, speech enhancers in speech recognition systems and in feature phones with answer phone facilities.

“MindTree offers value to our Bluetooth technology customers through complementary offerings such as ClearMind. With audio being the killer application for Bluetooth in terms of the multitude of music streaming and gaming applications in the market today, embedded DSP solutions are key to realizing the mass market potential for Bluetooth in the automotive and wireless space,” said S. Janakiraman, MindTree President and CEO, R&D Services.  “We shall continue to invest in research and development on Bluetooth technology and offer software as well as hardware solutions as licensable intellectual property and design services. Our new program also includes development on UWB technology, leveraging MindTree’s capabilities in short-range wireless domain.”

MindTree Research focuses on building MindTree’s competence in the short range wireless technology domain with a view to create licensable building blocks that help customers achieve cost and time-to-market benefits. Incubated within MindTree as a core body of engineers and technologists in year 2000, MindTree Research has invested over 300 person years in Bluetooth technology. It offers one of the most complete suites of Bluetooth-based solutions in the industry, which includes the EtherMind™ 2.0 Upper Layer Stack and Profiles, and the BlueWiz™ 2.0 ready Baseband Controller. The recently launched UWB program would offer the UltraWiz MAC/ digital PHY layers which would support a maximum data rate of 480 mbps, along with other software intellectual property (IP) that are fully compliant to WiMedia specifications. The UltraWiz digital PHY IP may be easily integrated with WiMedia compatible Analog Front End (AFE) and RF blocks.

MindTree Research is part of MindTree’s R&D Services business which combines expertise in semiconductor IP, hardware and software to offer complete product realization services. MindTree addresses the needs of the Communication, Wireless, Industrial Automation and Consumer Appliances industries to create their next generation products backed by strong domain expertise in ASIC / SoC Design, IP development, board, system and embedded software development.

About MindTree

MindTree Consulting is an international IT company that delivers affordable business and technology solutions through global software development. Co-headquartered in Somerset, NJ and Bangalore, India, the company approaches technology initiatives in a business context, with the industry knowledge of a seasoned management team and employees exceptionally skilled in technology, business analysis and project management.  MindTree Consulting develops applications to help companies enhance their enterprise operations.  The company also delivers R&D services and designs re-usable building blocks for hi-tech companies.  MindTree is the world's youngest company to be assessed at Level 5 in both CMMi and P-CMM.  MindTree has been ranked among the top five Great Places to Work in 2004 in a study conducted by Grow Talent Company and Businessworld.  MindTree has also been rated as one of the Best Employers in India for the second consecutive year in 2004 by Hewitt Associates.  Please visit www.mindtree.com for more information.