DECT Ultra Low Energy (ULE), a communication standard used in wireless phones, has many advantages when applied in a voice control setting, according to chip solution provider DSP Group.
DECT Ultra Low Energy (ULE), a communication standard used in wireless phones, has many advantages when applied in a voice control setting, according to chip solution provider DSP Group.
When it comes to voice control, people tend to be familiar with mainstream products like Amazon Echo or Google Home. These smart speakers require Wi-Fi connectivity and their placement are constrained because they need to be connected to a power source.
Local voice systems do not have these limitations. They can be battery powered and use various radio frequencies such as Zigbee and Z-Wave, meaning voice control can function in the absence of Internet connection.
Smart home companies, large and small, have developed local voice systems by embedding voice IC into devices. Local voice systems have merits not found in big name smart speakers, according to DSP, which provides chips for a variety of communication products.
The company’s SmartVoice is a line of chip solutions which enable a voice user interface in a variety of devices. SmartVoice chips can be connected to a microphone or speaker, and allow the device to be always-on and receptive to voice commands while consuming extremely low power. The device only awakens when it hears trigger words. The chip’s local algorithms enhance speech detection, and enables beam forming, noise cancellation, barge-in, etc.
ULE chip is another product line of DSP and it is based on the DECT technology which operates in an interference-free spectrum and can be applied broadly. As the communication protocol used in wireless phones, DECT also has much greater transmission range, both indoors and outdoors, compared with other protocols like Wi-Fi, Z-Wave and Zigbee.
“It’s very low cost and can have wide deployment, allowing users to cover the entire home. They are battery-powered devices so you can put it everywhere,” said Tali Chen, Corporate Vice President Corporate Development & Chief Evangelist at DSP.
DECT’s only disadvantage is that it is deployed in the smart home space relatively late. Zigbee was launched 10 years earlier while Z-Wave also hit the market seven years earlier, Chen added.