Silicon Labs reduces the cost and complexity of voice-enabled ZigBee remote controls

Silicon Labs, a leading provider of microcontrollers, sensors and wireless connectivity solutions in the Internet of Things (IoT), has announced the industry's most cost-effective, voice-enabled ZigBee remote control solution. This complete reference design solution significantly reduces the high cost external hardware typically required by enabling high-quality software-style audio codecs in a single-chip wireless SoC. The new software codecs are a key part of Silicon Labs' small-size reference design for voice-enabled, ZigBee-based and proprietary protocol-based remote controls, bringing powerful voice control capabilities to TVS, set-top boxes (STBS), Over-the-Top (OTT) boxes and connected home products.

As IoT's many "devices" become smarter and more connected, it becomes increasingly difficult to fit richer user interfaces into smaller devices. Voice enabling is changing the way we control and operate connected devices by providing an easier, hands-free way to search, browse, and experience content and services. By combining powerful Voice-over-RF technology with cloud-based speech recognition technology, voice-enabled remotes free people from traditional infrared (IR) remotes that are constrained by line-of-sight and keystrokes. Silicon Labs' innovative voice codec technology and complete reference design simplify the entire process of designing a truly intelligent remote control.

Silicon Labs' new ZigBee Remote Control (ZRC) reference design provides all the hardware and software needed to develop a fully functional, voice-enabled remote control. The reference design, based on Silicon Labs' EM34x wireless SoC and ZRC 2.0 gold cell certified software stack, provides an industry-standard approach to achieving interoperable, low-power RF remote controls. The reference design includes a complete RF layout and design file, an acceleration sensor for backlight control, a buzzer for the find me remote function, support for IR control, a digital microphone, and the ability to transmit voice commands over the RF.

The reference design built by Silicon Labs supports voice control, whether using an external hardware codec or the company's software codec technology. Hardware codecs reduce the EM34x SoC processing load, while software codecs increase CPU load for minimal bill of materials (BOM) costs. Both design options meet the stringent voice quality requirements of leading providers of cloud-based speech recognition software.

Daniel Cooley, vice president of IoT Product Marketing at Silicon Labs, said: "As a leading provider of ZigBee chips and software solutions for the Internet of Things, Silicon Labs has helped thousands of wireless developers simplify and accelerate their RF designs. "We are excited about the growth of voice control in the connected home, and we have developed a complete reference design to reduce the cost and complexity of building voice-enabled ZigBee remote controls for a wide range of connected home products."

Two new Silicon Labs development kits are now available for reference design for voice enableability:

● EM34X-VREVK Voice Remote Control Evaluation Kit: This basic kit features pre-programmed equipment and a simple GUI that demonstrates remote control capabilities including RF, voice commands, and traditional IR.

● Em34x-vrdk Voice Remote Control Development Kit: Provides an "out of the box" design experience, this full-featured kit simplifies remote control and target device development with EM34x voice enabled remote control, USB flash drive, EM34x development board, EM34x wireless module and ISA3 debugging adapter.

Silicon Labs' EM34x wireless SoC is at the heart of the reference design and handles all remote control functions. The EM34x SoC offers unmatched performance, low power consumption and code density, and features a single-chip design based on the industry's best-selling ZigBee mesh networking SoC architecture. The SoC integrates a 2.4GHz IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver, ARM® Cortex®-M3 processor, flash memory, RAM, and peripherals. The transceiver's efficient architecture provides a 110dB link budget and can provide reliable links for ZRC applications without an external power amplifier (PA) or low noise amplifier (LNA). The integrated receive channel filter and multistage retry function support coexistence with other 2.4GHz standard devices such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Silicon Labs' complete wireless development tools provide the fastest path to developing ZRC-certified remote control products. The AppBuilder tool enables developers to configure remote control applications with a set of easy-to-use plug-ins that support key features such as keyboard drives, leds, acceleration sensing, and voice control. Silicon Labs also offers Desktop Network Analyzer, which is not a traditional wireless monitor (sniffer), but is able to provide users with a complete view of all wireless network activity by using the packet tracking port on the EM34x wireless SoC.