CSR launches audio processor with Bluetooth connectivity

The CSR780 embeds an audio processing platform and a handset Bluetooth radio onto a single chip and has incorporates voice processing technology designed to improve the audio quality in noisy environments. By combining Bluetooth and voice processing functionality in a single chip, CSR says that the device reduces manufacturing costs and design integration time as well as overall pcb space. Existing handset designs that incorporate a CSR Bluetooth device can be upgraded to CSR7810. Its noise cancellation uses signals from one or two microphones (digital or analogue) to remove background noise from the transmitted voice signal. By 'listening' to both the caller's voice and the surrounding environment, and then calculating the difference between the two signals, CSR claims its dual microphone noise cancellation makes a big difference to audibility. Volume and equalisation at the earpiece are adjusted to compensate for background noise. Raj Gawera, vice president of marketing for CSR's Handset Business Unit, said: "The mobile handset has evolved tremendously over the past decade. However, one area that hasn't changed much is the user audio experience – until now. Cellular operators are upgrading their networks to have wider audio pipes to improve the audio experience. On the mobile handset side, there is the increased use of speech recognition technology. Operating systems such as Google Android 2.0 contain built in speech recognition to enter text and control phone functions. All of this means that active noise cancellation will quickly become a mandatory technology on high end phones."