XMOS helps Skyworth create a voice-enabled, always-on AI TV

BRISTOL — 2018 marks Skyworth’s 30th anniversary. A leading brand in China’s colour-TV industry, Skyworth is taking a bold step forward within the market. At their 2018 new product strategy event, the runaway success across all product launches on the day was Skyworth’s always-on AI TV.

Yu Jianwei, China Marketing Headquarters Executive Vice General manager and Marketing Director at Skyworth showcased the new TV and controlled it solely by voice. He switched the TV on and adjusted the table lamp via voice command. In a display of great showmanship, he used a voice command to light up Guangzhou’s landmark Canton Tower.

In keeping with their mantra “Technical Innovation Makes Products Simpler to Use,” Skyworth’s always-on AI TV will ‘wake-up’ in response to a voice command and respond to what’s asked of it – whether that’s adjusting the volume or answering a general question.

Skyworth has transformed from a marketing driven company into one that’s driven by technology. In March this year, Skyworth entered into a strategic partnership with Baidu. The integration of Baidu’s DuerOS and Coocaa System is powerful: the Coocaa System provides an optimized media resource library, while DuerOS transforms the TV into an intelligent display that provides users with more accurate search content and an elevated user experience.

As well as upgrading its content and data-processing technologies, Skyworth has joined forces with XMOS – a world-leader in voice and audio processors – to develop the AI voice chip and remove the requirement for a remote control. Together they created an immersive voice-interactive experience.

XMOS’s first generation microcontroller has been used in premium consumer, studio and broadcast audio equipment from over 200 manufacturers. Their second-generation multicore microcontroller, the xCORE-200 series, is designed for IoT-based equipment for the creation of high-quality music and optimised sound processing solutions.

The AI TV voice chip is based on XMOS VocalFusion XVF3500 voice processor, with a compact four-microphone linear array to enhance voice capture range and accuracy. Together, XMOS and Skyworth have developed a solution that enables Skyworth’s TV to deliver 180° all-dimensional sound-source identification from up to 5 meters – which means instant wake-up from across the room using only your voice. The XVF3500 voice processor also supports de-reverberation and noise suppression, enabling the Skyworth TV to ‘hear’ and accurately capture the user’s voice commands, no matter what volume the content is playing at or how noisy the surrounding environment.

The strong blend of XMOS and Skyworth’s integrated voice-interface and Baidu’s information and service eco-system, gives Skyworth’s consumers another high-quality, high-tech product that brings the power of voice to life.