Fraunhofer IIS and DSP Concepts are making it easier for manufacturers to keep up with the latest features and consumer demands while reducing cost and time to market.
Getting new audio features and algorithms in products can be a challenge. By utilizing a flexible platform complete with algorithms such as Cingo by Fraunhofer IIS, product development can be accelerated while simultaneously cutting costs and providing must-have features. Using DSP Concepts’ Audio Weaver – the development platform for the Audio of Things – audio manufacturers can easily enhance their products with licensed technologies. It is as simple as selecting the desired algorithm from Audio Weaver’s list of more than 550 modules, then dragging it into your layout.
The advantages of licensing audio technologies, rather than developing them in-house, are easy to appreciate. Companies that specialize in audio technology development, for example Fraunhofer IIS, have a focused expertise and proven technology that manufacturers may lack, and licensing is typically less resource-intensive than developing a technology in-house.
Fraunhofer has spent the last 30+ years developing and licensing audio technologies such as mp3, AAC, MPEG-H Audio, Enhanced Voice Services (EVS), and Bluetooth LC3/LC3plus. Following these benchmark advancements, Fraunhofer now offers Cingo, perhaps the most versatile binaural renderer available, and already in use by customers worldwide.
Binaural renderers such as Fraunhofer Cingo are processors that expand the perceived sonic image to create a surround-sound effect. They can be applied in physically challenging applications such as headphones and closely spaced speakers in smartphones, tablets, and laptops. No matter what the application is, Cingo enables stereo, multichannel, and immersive sound formats to sound natural and spacious. With MPEG-H Audio support, optimized rendering of 3D audio content can be realized on mobile devices, working with audio streams encoded with overhead channels and placement of an arbitrary number of audio objects in virtual space (azimuth, elevation, distance, and spread). This complement of features allows the solution from Fraunhofer IIS to create an immersive and realistic listening experience that is in a class of its own.
Derived HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) profiles apply specialized filtering based on head/ear anatomy and object position, helping Cingo deliver realistic binaural audio. Cingo remains the sole binaural rendering solution that provides true support for object-based audio. Additionally, head tracking is available when positional sensors are included in the target device. Using this sensor data to determine orientation, Cingo dynamically adjusts the stereo field to provide a consistent response that adapts to the position of the listener’s head, no matter where it is in relation to the speakers.
Cingo also includes useful capabilities such as equalization to improve the sound of speakers and headphones, and loudness optimization to achieve the best possible sound quality and dialog clarity in any setting.
Developing a virtualizer that can deliver a satisfying sound experience anywhere and everywhere, using practically any hardware, would typically place a great strain on the R&D resources of most manufacturers. With Audio Weaver and its specialized third-party algorithms, they can radically cut their development time while easing the load on their development teams, because they can use the same licensed technologies, such as Cingo, for all of their products.
Manufacturers using DSP Concepts’ Audio Weaver can add and optimize Cingo in a matter of minutes. Simply select Cingo from Audio Weaver’s list of more than 550 available processing modules, then drag and drop it into place using Audio Weaver’s graphical interface. All signal routing is managed on screen with virtual wires, and all adjustments and optimization of Cingo’s functions are easily accomplished with the available controls.
With Audio Weaver, there is no need to write DSP code, and all of the processing modules are already optimized for whichever DSP or SoC you have chosen. The built-in debugging and profiling capabilities of Audio Weaver make it easy to get Cingo running fast, potentially cutting hours or even days of development time. All operations can be completed using Audio Weaver — an industry standard that engineers around the world have adopted as the platform of choice for feature development and embedded audio processing. In addition to easily integrating third-party IP using Audio Weaver, OEMs can work with DSP Concepts’ customer engineering team for troubleshooting and feature customization.
Header Image (C) Fraunhofer IIS/F.M.Eckstein