NEWS AUDIO COLLABORATION
Dirac and NXP announce
collaboration
SOUND SPECIALIST DIRAC AND NXP SEMICONDUCTORS ANNOUNCE AUDIO
COLLABORATION AT CES. NEIL TYLER REPORTS
Swedish sound specialist Dirac and NXP Semiconductors are to collaborate, combining a
powerful audio chipset with a digital audio platform.
By equipping NXP’s i.MX 8M family of chipsets with Dirac’s digital audio platform, OEMs will
now be able to develop devices with maximised, immersive and adaptive sound.
Dirac’s digital audio platform includes both its digital audio solutions and a suite of tuning
tools which can be selected by the OEM to customise a product’s sound experience, while the
tuning tools ensure consistent sound quality across a product line allowing the OEM to adjust
the sound experience based on brand preferences.
The Dirac-enabled NXP chipsets are intended for a new generation of smart speakers and
soundbars that look to prioritise high-quality sound, in addition to home theatre receivers and
automobiles, for example.
“NXP has strong relationships with category-leading brands in some of the most dynamic
consumer market segments,” said Mathias Johansson, Dirac’s co-founder and CEO. “By
teaming up with NXP, Dirac has accelerated its growth in the smart speaker and soundbar
channels and is now uniquely positioned to rede ne these growing markets by enabling smaller
products with a level of sound that could once only be delivered through much larger devices.”
“The consumer market is demanding higher quality audio across the entire product spectrum,
including smart speakers and soundbars,” said Martyn Humphries, vice president and general
manager, i.MX applications processor for consumer and industrial for NXP. “Collaborating with
Dirac allows NXP to offer an advanced audio solution that meets the industry’s rising standards
and makes it much easier for our manufacturer customers to enable their products with a
premium sound experience, without adding any development costs.”
Nexeon positive about SUNRISE Project
Nexeon, which is developing silicon
materials for next generation Li-ion
batteries, has announced that it is sampling
silicon-enhanced batteries to potential
customers for evaluation.
The company has reached the halfway
stage in its £10million SUNRISE project,
and has already produced silicon battery
materials that have performed better than
expected. Initial
feedback from customers has been very
positive, according to the company.
The SUNRISE project is on target to
develop materials based on silicon as a
replacement for carbon in the cell anode
and is looking to optimise cell designs for
specifi c applications.
Silicon-enhanced batteries with longer
life and higher energy density will be of
benefi t in consumer electronics
products and static energy
storage applications.
A prototype reactor has
been built and is operational,
and progress has been
made to ramp up production
capability.
The work is supported
by £7million in Innovate
UK funding, and the other
partners in the project are
polymer company Synthomer
and UCL.
60GHz in-car
automotive grade
Radar-On-Chip
Vayyar Imaging, a specialist in 4D radar
imaging technology, has unveiled the world’s
rst 60GHz automotive-grade MIMO radar-onchip
(ROC).
The 60GHz solution offers the complete
functionality of the company’s existing
79GHz reference-design and will enable the
automotive industry to meet global EU NCAP
and US Hot-Car needs.
Vayyar’s solution displays the dimension,
location, breathing pattern and movement
of people, utilising proprietary 4D pointcloud
VOXEL imaging. This high-resolution,
high-performance ROC enables complete
classi cation of the car’s environment,
regardless of line-of-sight, bad lighting or
harsh weather conditions, offering much
higher levels of in-cabin safety.
Vayyar’s high-resolution, high-performance,
low-cost solution is the rst of its kind
providing manufacturers with a sensor that
meets global regulatory requirements. The
60GHz solution offers manufacturers and Tier
1 suppliers the same ROC functionality as
the 79GHz version providing full exibility to
start global mass-production preparations.
Commenting Ian Podkamien, Director
of Automotive Business Development at
Vayyar said, “Compared to other options,
our radar-on-chip is far more advanced,
robust, mature and cost-ef cient, leading
to faster and more effective interior sensor
implementation. Our comprehensive In-Car
Evaluation Kit is available on both 60GHz and
79GHz versions, with the same software and
performance.”
Vayyar’s automotive-grade radar-on-a-chip
(ROC) has up to 48 transceivers and an
internal DSP for real-time signal processing.
Its low-cost sensor can be easily integrated
into the existing automotive framework, and
due to its multi-functionality, reduces the
number of sensors needed as well as the
amount of wiring required, providing more
value while reducing the overall vehicle cost.
For deployed vehicles, more functions
can be added over time, with simple OTA
software upgrades.
The solution is ready for mass production
and deployment, having undergone intensive
CPD and SBR test cases over the past year.
8 14 January 2020 www.newelectronics.co.uk
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