Tensilica and Sensory Drive Industry's Lowest Power DSP-Based Voice Activation Solution

Update: Cadence Completes Acquisition of Tensilica (Apr 24, 2013)

Low Power Speech Detection Enables Under 25 µW

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – February 25, 2013 –Tensilica, Inc. and Sensory today announced that the two companies have worked together to provide the lowest power voice activation solution based on Tensilica’s recently introduced HiFi Mini DSP (digital signal processor) IP core and Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree™ always-on voice activation technology. By utilizing Sensory’s Low Power Speech Detection technology, Tensilica was able to further reduce power to an average of under 25 µW when implemented in a 28 nm HPL process, the lowest power implementation by far in the industry. This makes this joint solution ideal for always-on voice activated smartphones, tablets, appliances and automotive applications.

Tensilica and Sensory will demonstrate their joint voice solution at Tensilica’s booth, #6D101 at the Mobile World Congress, February 25-28, in Barcelona, Spain.

“The Low Power Speech Detection capability significantly extends battery life,” stated Bernard Brafman, vice president of business development at Sensory. “When the HiFi DSP detects speech, the full TrulyHandsfree 3.0 voice trigger features, including speaker verification passphrase, user-defined speaker verification and user-defined speaker identification, will be enabled.”

“Using Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree technology, we can offer our customers the lowest power total solution, with power ranging from below an average of 25 µW in basic detection mode,” stated Larry Przywara, Tensilica’s senior director of mobile multimedia. “With this level of efficiency, Sensory’s voice trigger running on our HiFi DSP is the smallest part of the power budget for the entire voice signal chain.”

Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree 3.0 technology enables personalization of the user experience by calling up a specific user’s history, preferences and settings. Sensory’s speaker verification technology uses voice biometrics and analysis to authenticate a specific individual. Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree complete set of voice activation and recognition products allow users to access a device with just their voice, bypassing the typical 4-digit number manually entered on the screen for access. More information is available at http://www.sensoryinc.com/products/trulyhandsfreevoicecontrol.html.

Tensilica’s HiFi DSP family is the most widely used licensable audio/voice DSP family, with support for over 100 proven audio/voice software packages. More than 50 companies have licensed Tensilica’s HiFi DSP family, and they’ve shipped over 200 million HiFi DSP cores in their smartphones, tablets, computers, digital televisions, home entertainment systems and other devices. Tensilica’s HiFi Audio/Voice DSP family includes four cores. The recently introduced HiFi Mini is an ultra-low-power DSP optimized for always-on voice recognition. HiFi 2 and HiFi EP are the mainstream products for efficient audio and voice processing. HiFi 3 adds additional optimizations for mobile wireless, home entertainment and automotive. See more at http://www.tensilica.com/products/audio.

About Sensory

Sensory, Inc. is the leader in speech technologies for consumer products, offering a complete line of IC and software-only solutions for speech recognition, speech synthesis, speaker verification, music synthesis and more. Sensory's products are widely deployed in consumer electronic applications including mobile, automotive, Bluetooth™ devices, toys, and various home electronics. Sensory's customers represent the leaders in consumer electronics, including such companies as AT&T, BlueAnt Wireless, Hasbro, JVC, Kenwood, Mattel, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Uniden, VTech, Samsung and Sony. Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree approach to speech recognition without buttons is breaking new ground in user experience. Visit www.sensoryinc.com.

About Tensilica

Tensilica, Inc. is the leader in dataplane processor IP cores with over 200 licensees. Dataplane processors (DPUs) combine the best capabilities of DSPs and CPUs while delivering 10 to 100x the performance because they can be optimized using Tensilica’s automated design tools to meet specific and demanding signal processing performance targets. Tensilica’s DPUs power SOC designs at system OEMs and seven out of the top 10 semiconductor companies for designs in mobile wireless, telecom and network infrastructure, computing and storage, and home and auto entertainment. Tensilica offers standard cores and hardware/software solutions that can be used as is or easily customized by semiconductor companies and OEMs for added differentiation. For more information on Tensilica’s patented, benchmark-proven DPUs visit www.tensilica.com.