Malaspina Adds Speech to STMicroelectronics' STM32 Microcontrollers.

Malaspina Labs has released its VoiceBoost suite of speech processing solutions for the STM32 family of microcontrollers from STMicroelectronics.

The VoiceBoost suite of speech processing solutions include noise reduction, ultra-low-power voice wakeup, biometric speaker verification, and embedded speech recognition products.

Malaspina's VoiceBoost Speaker Independent Voice Activation solution allows users to wakeup and interact with STM32-based devices using spoken phrases, without requiring typing, gestures, or button presses. The solution executes continuously in a low-power state. The solution also allows phrase spotting with or without preceding wakeup phrases to control device functions by voice commands.

Malaspina’s VoiceBoost Biometric Speaker Verification solution allows STM32-based devices to implement biometric voice authentication so the device will respond only when an enrolled user's private passphrase is spoken in the user's own voice. The Biometric Speaker Verification solution allows manufacturers to add device locking, parental controls, and multi-user capabilities to smart consumer and IoT devices.

Like its Speaker Independent Voice Activation solution, Malaspina's VoiceBoost Biometric Speaker Verification solution is effective in high background noise with users speaking at arm’s length and beyond and can execute in an ultra-low-power, always listening mode.

In addition to authenticating users for access to a device, the Biometric Speaker Verification solution can be used in conjunction with the Speaker Independent Voice Activation solution to allow limited device functionality for all users, while providing personalized functions and information to identified users.

All VoiceBoost solutions execute entirely locally on the STM32 device without Internet connectivity or cloud-based services.

"The Smart Wearables market is growing rapidly, and for many of these small and low-power devices that can’t use touch-screen displays because of size and cost, voice commands can do the job," said Michel Buffa, general manager of the microcontroller division at STMicroelectronics, in a statement. "Malaspina's VoiceBoost technology is an excellent solution for that use case, and it is a great match for the STM32 microcontrollers. It provides robust performance in noisy environments with minimal power consumption."

"STMicroelectronics' large range of STM32 microcontrollers are a great solution for wearables, smart consumer devices, IoT, and industrial devices wanting to provide voice control or multisensor processing capabilities at ultra-low power," Dean Neumann, CEO of Malaspina Labs, said in a statement. "We are delighted to be able to offer our full suite of speech solutions highlighting the performance and range of the STM32 microcontrollers." 

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