Vesper and DSP Group Demo Near-Zero-Power Voice-Activation for Battery-Powered Devices at CES 2017

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 04, 2017 -- Vesper, developer of the world’s most advanced acoustic sensors, and DSP Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSPG), a leading global provider of wireless chipset solutions for converged communications, and Sensory, Inc., the leader in voice interface and keyword-detect algorithms, will demonstrate a turnkey development platform that boasts the lowest overall power consumption for far-field always-listening voice interfaces. This platform is the first to achieve overall power consumption low enough to enable battery-powered always-listening far-field systems.

“Today consumers who want to turn on their battery-powered smart speakers, TV remotes, smart home systems and Internet of Things (IoT) devices have to push a button to wake their device from sleep. This limits consumers’ ability to interact seamlessly and naturally with their devices, leaving them tethered to touch,” said Matt Crowley, CEO, Vesper. “The Vesper-DSP Group-Sensory development platform offers an alternative technology based on the fundamentally different physics of piezoelectric materials that wakes devices from sleep, while sipping mere microwatts of power. Due to the rugged nature of piezoelectric microphones, this platform is also ideal for systems that need to survive outdoors or in harsh environments.”

Crowley added, “The Vesper-DSP Group-Sensory wake-on-sound platform consumes 5x less power than existing approaches, potentially allowing products to run for years rather than months without battery replacement.”

The new development platform – which the companies will demonstrate at CES 2017 for the first time — integrates Vesper’s VM1010 wake-on-sound piezoelectric MEMS microphone with DSP Group’s DBMD4, an ultra-low-power, always-on voice and audio processor based on Sensory’s Truly Handsfree™ voice control embedded algorithms. The platform gives developers the ability to initiate voice processing through Sensory’s wake-up word technology, which ensures that only a specific trigger word activates the device.

“Our development platform enables and dramatically accelerates time to market for far-field voice-controlled battery-powered consumer electronics,” said Ofer Elyakim, CEO, DSP Group. “It gives OEMs and integrators a fully integrated solution for consumer electronics that actively listen and sense both voice activity and commands while in near-zero-power mode, alleviating battery strain, improving device usability, and extending battery life.” 

“Voice-activated battery-powered consumer electronics, such as smart speakers and TV remotes, are proliferating,” said Todd Mozer, CEO, Sensory Inc. “The Vesper-DSP Group-Sensory development platform — which features the same Sensory TrulyHandsfree voice activation algorithms that have already shipped in over 1 billion devices — is a major advancement in speeding the design-to-deployment cycle of keyword-activated battery-powered electronics.”

For More Information
Vesper, DSP Group and Sensory will demonstrate their new development platform from January 5-8, 2017 during CES 2017. For more information on VM1010, please visit: http://vespermems.com/products/vm1000/. To schedule a private meeting with the companies, email: [email protected].

About DSP Group
DSP Group®, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSPG) is a leading global provider of wireless chipset solutions for converged communications. Delivering semiconductor system solutions with software and hardware reference designs, DSP Group enables OEMs/ODMs, consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers and service providers to cost-effectively develop new revenue-generating products with fast time to market. At the forefront of semiconductor innovation and operational excellence for over two decades, DSP Group provides a broad portfolio of wireless chipsets integrating DECT/CAT-iq, ULE, Wi-Fi, PSTN, HDClear™, video and VoIP technologies. DSP Group enables converged voice, audio, video and data connectivity across diverse mobile, consumer and enterprise products – from mobile devices, connected multimedia screens, and home automation & security to cordless phones, VoIP systems, and home gateways. Leveraging industry-leading experience and expertise, DSP Group partners with CE manufacturers and service providers to shape the future of converged communications at home, office and on the go. For more information, visit www.dspg.com.

About Sensory Inc.
Sensory Inc. creates a safer and superior UX through vision and voice technologies. Sensory’s technologies are widely deployed in consumer electronics applications including mobile phones, automotive, wearables, toys, IoT and various home electronics. With its TrulyHandsfree voice control, Sensory has set the standard for mobile handset platforms’ ultra-low power “always listening” touchless control. To date, Sensory’s technologies have shipped in over a billion units of leading consumer products. For more information, visit: www.sensory.com.

About Vesper
Vesper is a privately held advanced sensor company based in Boston, MA. With origins at the University of Michigan, Vesper microphones are driving a new era of pervasive voice interfaces and acoustic event detection via a proprietary piezoelectric MEMS technology. These products include smartphones, smart cities, smart speakers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and connected cars. Vesper is funded by Accomplice, Amazon’s Alexa Fund, AAC Technologies, Hyperplane, Miraenano Tech, XinGang Electronics and other strategic partners. For more information about Vesper, please contact us via email: [email protected] or web: www.vespermems.com.

The Vesper logo is a registered trademark of Vesper. The DSP Group logo is a registered trademark of DSP Group. TrulyHandsfree is a trademark of Sensory Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Contacts: 

Vesper
Matt Crowley
Email: [email protected]

Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications
Telephone: +617.876.2770 (press inquiries only)	
Email: [email protected]

DSP Group 
Tali Chen, CVP Corporate Development
Telephone: +1.408.240.6826
Email: [email protected]

Sensory Inc.
Michael Farino
New Era Communications Services for Sensory
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +949.346.1984