STMicroelectronics introduces Bluetooth Low Energy voice solutions for wearables and remote controls

     Voice control technology can improve the ease of use and battery life of wearable devices. Spanning multiple electronic applications, a new software-based innovation from STMicroelectronics, the world's leading semiconductor supplier, dramatically simplifies the time and steps needed to add voice-activated technology to wearable devices.

     The wearables market has taken off with the arrival of products with more sophisticated designs, such as smartwatches. Market research firm IHS predicts that by 2019, wearable product sales will reach 135 million units, product designs will become smarter to support advanced functions, and the number of sensors used will increase. Ease of use and battery life are the key factors for consumers to consider whether to purchase, and voice control can minimize the frequency of use of touch screens, thereby improving the ease of use and battery life of wearable devices.

     STMicroelectronics' market-leading wireless chips, microcontrollers and MEMS sensors are ideal for wearable devices. The new BlueVoice software provides designers with all the driver software and firmware needed to deliver voice messages via low-power Bluetooth Bluetooth communication technology on systems based on ST's STM32 microcontroller, BlueNRG ultra-low power network processor and digital MEMS microphones. All hardware is placed on a stackable development board, making it easy for users to develop product prototypes.

     Compared to Wi-Fi and ZigBee, low energy Bluetooth is more suitable for home automation system Remote Control Units (RCU). St's integrated BlueVoice software development platform, which enables a more intuitive and natural user interface with MEMS microphones and motion sensors, is the ideal solution for voice and gesture control.

     Based on the STM32Cube platform, osxBlueVoice's new middleware and BlueVoiceLink software development Tool (SDK) are part of an open openc.audio licensing program that enables designers to use STMicroelectronics' digital MEMS microphones. Open.audio links to the STM32 open development environment and provides powerful support for designers developing embedded projects using STM32 ARM® Cortex® 32-bit microcontrollers.