Cadence Design Systems, a premier global semiconductor company, announced their successful collaboration with GlobalFoundries, Hoerzentrum Oldenburg gGmbH and Leibniz University Hannover to produce a groundbreaking binaural hearing aid system-on-chip prototype named Smart Hearing Aid Processor (SmartHeAP). This innovative SoC offers advanced programmable capabilities to hearing aid devices for processing key sounds while simultaneously decreasing background noise levels.
The SmartHeAP SoC prototype provides hearing aid companies with all of the components needed to design and reprogram hearing devices that enhance hearing experiences for wearers. Key benefits of using the SmartHeAP SoC prototype include:
Binaural Hearing Technology: By connecting both hearing aids in both ears to each other, wearers can enjoy an immersive auditory scene without losing binaural cues.
Improved Hearing Loss Compensation: Using sophisticated algorithms, the SoC automatically analyzes incoming signals and provides tailored sound amplification tailored to meet each wearer’s hearing requirements.
SmartHeAP Aims to Deliver Superior Sound Quality while Consuming Less Power: This audio player ensures optimal audio playback without draining energy resources and shortening battery life.
Cost Savings: Hearing aid software updates can easily be made without replacing hardware, creating cost savings for both users and hearing aid companies.
Accelerated Time to Market: The SoC’s high-level programming languages help hearing aid companies of all sizes compete more effectively by speeding up innovation cycles.
Cadence’s Tensilica Fusion G6 DSP proved instrumental in developing the SmartHeAP SoC, offering versatile yet easy-to-program multipurpose processing at reduced energy consumption. Furthermore, Tensilica Xtensa LX7 processor provided additional performance, flexibility, and longevity benefits that tailored for control-intensive tasks; digital full flow optimization helped achieve design closure while optimizing power, performance, and area consumption.
GF 22FDX platform’s ability to offer up to 50% lower power at high performance frequencies thanks to adaptive body bias (ABB) feature was instrumental in helping hearing aid manufacturers reduce power consumption – an essential consideration when using battery-powered devices like hearing aids.
Rishi Chugh, Vice President of Product Management in Cadence’s IP Group, expressed his enthusiasm for this collaborative project by noting: “Our research and technology advancements are making hearing easier for millions. Each organization involved brought something different to this endeavour – an ultimate reward would be seeing an effective prototype arrive that makes a positive impactful difference on hearing experience!”
Cadence’s Tensilica Fusion G6 DSP, Xtensa LX7 processor and digital full flow support the company’s Intelligent System Design(tm) Strategy to further enable SoC design excellence. To explore Cadence Tensilica IP and digital full flow further, individuals interested may visit www.cadence.com/go/tensilicash and www.cadence.com/go/digitalffsh, respectively; to explore GF 22FDX platform further please visit gf.com/technology-platforms while to gain further information go here https://www.elektronikforschung.de/projecte/smartheap for full view of SmartHeAP system details
What Is SoC
SoC, which stands for System-on-Chip, refers to an integrated circuit which incorporates all the components needed for an electronic system on one chip – such as microprocessor or microcontrollers, memory, input/output interfaces, peripherals etc – all within its confines. SoC technology is commonly utilized by smartphones, tablets, IoT devices and embedded systems due to its many advantages in terms of size, power consumption efficiency and system integration.
What Is Multi-Purpose DSP
A multi-purpose Digital Signal Processor (DSP) is a type of processor specifically designed to efficiently perform signal processing tasks across an array of applications. As opposed to more specialized DSPs that may only work well for specific uses, a multi-purpose DSP provides more versatility by being suitable for many signal processing jobs at once.
Multi-purpose DSPs are widely utilized for applications that require adaptability and versatility, such as audio processing, image processing, telecommunications, speech recognition and control systems. Some common applications of multi-purpose DSPs are audio processing, image processing, telecommunications speech recognition control systems.
These processors typically possess both hardware and software features that enable them to carry out signal processing quickly and efficiently, often used in real-time applications where high performance signal processing is essential. Multipurpose DSPs are widely utilized across consumer electronics, automotive systems, communications equipment and industrial settings.
