Application Processor Voice Trigger Low Power Echo Cancellation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Voice-based intelligent interfaces require tactile input to initiate, which detracts from the user experience and consumes power in electronic devices, especially in handheld devices where battery life is a concern.

Innovation Solution

An application processor with a voice trigger system and audio subsystem that performs echo cancellation and voice trigger operations, allowing for voice-activated interface initiation without waking up the host processor, thus reducing power consumption.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If continuous or intermittent monitoring of audio channel is performed to detect voice input, then voice trigger operation can be initiated, but electrical power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevoice trigger operationVSAvoidelectrical power consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The audio processing system is segmented into multiple functional blocks: audio interface, audio subsystem, echo canceller, noise reducer, and voice trigger system. Each block processes audio data independently and can be activated/deactivated selectively, allowing the system to perform voice trigger monitoring with reduced power consumption by only activating necessary processing blocks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs partial audio processing by selectively applying echo cancellation and noise reduction only when necessary for accurate voice trigger detection. The voice trigger system can operate with minimal processing (partial action) to detect wake words, avoiding full audio processing chains that would consume more power.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Measurement precision

If echo cancellation is performed on microphone data during audio replay, then voice recognition accuracy is enhanced, but processing complexity and power consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevoice recognition accuracyVSAvoidprocessing power

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The echo canceller performs preliminary echo cancellation on microphone data before the voice trigger system processes the audio for wake word detection. By removing echo components in advance, the subsequent voice recognition operates on cleaner data with higher accuracy, while the preliminary processing is optimized to consume minimal power.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The echo canceller acts as an intermediary block between the audio interface and voice trigger system. It processes microphone data to remove echo artifacts caused by audio replay, providing cleaned audio data to the voice trigger system without requiring the host processor to be active, thus enhancing accuracy while maintaining low power operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Device complexity

If voice trigger system is integrated with host processor, then system complexity is reduced, but power consumption increases when host processor is active

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem integrationVSAvoidprocessor power

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system is segmented into a voice trigger system that can operate independently from the host processor. The voice trigger system includes dedicated blocks (audio interface, audio subsystem, echo canceller, noise reducer) that can process audio data and detect wake words without requiring the host processor to be active, enabling low-power operation while maintaining integration benefits.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The voice trigger system is designed to be self-sufficient, performing audio processing, echo cancellation, noise reduction, and wake word detection autonomously without requiring host processor intervention. This self-service capability allows the system to monitor for voice triggers using minimal power, only activating the host processor when a wake word is detected.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS11044368B2Application processor supporting low power echo cancellation, electronic device including the same and method of operating the same

Publication Date: 2021.06.22 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

An application processor is provided. The application processor includes a system bus, a host processor, a voice trigger system and an audio subsystem that are electrically connected to the system bus. The voice trigger system performs a voice trigger operation and issues a trigger event based on a trigger input signal that is provided through a trigger interface. The audio subsystem processes audio streams through an audio interface. While an audio replay is performed through the audio interface, the application processor performs an echo cancellation with respect to microphone data received from a microphone to generate compensated data and the voice trigger system performs the voice trigger operation based on the compensated data.