ArkX Labs Receives Amazon AVS Qualification for EveryWordtm Far-Field Audio Front End (AFE) Module

ArkX Laboratories, a joint venture between hardware design and development firm Surfaceink and consumer electronics manufacturing company Ark Electronics USA, announces its new high-performance EveryWord^tm Audio Front End (AFE) module has been qualified in both 2 and 4 mic configurations by Amazon's Alexa Voice Service (AVS). The production-ready Ultra Far-field AFE module features Cirrus Logic SoundClear® Technology.

"The Alexa Voice Service qualification of the AFE module means that OEMs looking to develop voice-enabled consumer electronic and IoT products can be more confident of passing Alexa Voice Service certification thereby mitigating their risks and development costs while accelerating time to market," says Eric Bauswell, CEO of ArkX Laboratories.

Bauswell added that the timing of the module's far-field solutions is highly relevant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers a hands-free solution and delivers high performance at 3X times the distance, allowing for interactions that are in alignment with social distancing requirements.

Beyond the Alexa Voice Service qualified EveryWord^tm AFE module, the ArkX voice and speech capture technology portfolio includes the EveryWord^tm Voice Module (System-on-Module + AFE). The entire product line of far-field voice solutions is designed to outperform the old beam-forming technology and provides a notable difference for consumers and businesses in real-world environments.

"The EveryWord^tm portfolio solves the biggest problems facing innovative OEMs today, including capturing voice in the presence of blaring TV and other noisy and reverberative environments without having to lower playback volume. It also works well around corners and can be placed anywhere, including in a wall, ceiling, Set Top Boxes, even lighting and other electrical fixtures," said Scott McNeese, Director of Voice & Audio. "Unlike conventional solutions that only hear in the X-Y plane, EveryWord^tm hears, captures and suppresses in all three X-Y-Z dimensions, even with only 2 to 4 mics in one plane. This advanced performance delivers soft talk at half the nominal speech loudness, assuring an even better end-user experience."

Other features of the EveryWord^tm AFE delivers 7 to 9 mic performance using only 3 to 4 mics, and flexible mic array spacing and orientation (2D, 3D, vertical, horizontal). It also features a range over 6 meters with the unique ability to identify and suppress speech from TV or speakers. There is also a supporting software stack available through the operating system; this offers backend cloud solutions that can support multiple triggers.

For more information, visit ArkX Laboratories at www.arkxlabs.com

Surfaceink is a pioneering Silicon Valley product design and development studio that provides full-system and consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and startups including its work on flagship products for global leaders such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Dolby, Fitbit, Google, and Intel. Surfaceink recently qualified as an Amazon Alexa Consulting & Professional Services Provider (CPS).

Ark Electronics USA is a contract manufacturing and engineering design company based in the United States and China. The company serves leading consumer electronics, mobile communications, automotive, and industrial IoT brands. Their combined technical expertise with agile manufacturing processes enables customers to create original products and solutions at scale.

ArkX Laboratories is led by executives from both companies. The company's offices are located in San Jose and Irvine, CA, USA, as well as Qingdao, China.