Synaptics supplies on-device AI voice analysis for Lenovo tablet

Lenovo has selected artificial intelligence capabilities for voice processing from Synaptics to power its Yoga Tab 11, providing users of the tablet with a robust voice assistant experience, according to the announcement, and setting up future implementation of voice biometrics and other features.

Synaptics is supplying its Katana system-on-chip (SoC) ultra-low power AI solution with advanced neural network technology to give the Yoga Tab 11 far-field noise suppression, a proprietary four-speaker acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) algorithm, and support for all major worldwide automated speech recognition (ASR) engines, allowing the device to “hear” and understand voice commands in noisy environments, including when the tablet itself is playing loud music or sound.

The Katana-based solution also delivers the above features with very low power consumption, Synaptics says, extending battery life.

“Lenovo adopted the Katana low-power AI solution from Synaptics for our Yoga Family of tablets, continuing a long and successful relationship between the two companies,” comments Tony Chen, Tablet Business VP at Lenovo. “We look forward to continued collaboration with Synaptics, extending our partnership across touchpad, fingerprint, video interface, audio, and now ultra-low-power AI technology powering premium Lenovo product lines.”

The Katana edge AI platform, which can also be used for face biometrics, was launched in late-2020.

“The Katana platform was designed to deliver energy-efficient premium products with excellent performance at low system cost while being highly versatile and scalable,” says Venkat Kodavati, SVP and chief product officer at Synaptics. “Lenovo leveraged Katana’s strengths in the Yoga Tab 11 to provide a single platform that meets current requirements while accommodating future low-power AI features, such as biometric identification and localized speech recognition.”

Synaptics also has a history of supplying biometric technology for Lenovo electronics.

Article Topics

AI  |  biometrics  |  consumer electronics  |  edge AI  |  Lenovo  |  speech recognition  |  Synaptics  |  tablets  |  voice biometrics