By Jeff Bier, 1/5/2004
In the average American home today you will
probably find ten or twenty separate digital clocks. There is one in
your computer, of course, but there's probably also one on the stove,
one on the VCR, one on the radio, one on your coffee machine, one on
your microwave oven—your home is probably infested with them. There's a
good reason for this. For products that already include an embedded
processor, the addition of clock functionality comes almost for free.
Just add an LCD display and a little software and you're there. And
these clocks aren't just inexpensive doo-dads meant to fill up the
feature list; they make it possible to offer a more useful product—for
example, an oven that lets you program starting and ending cook times.
I have a hunch that digital audio capabilities will soon follow the
trajectory of digital clocks.
In the past, digital audio features were found mostly in fairly
expensive products. This was primarily because processors that had
enough horsepower to implement digital audio were just too expensive to
be included in cost-sensitive products. These days, though, there are
many inexpensive, competent microprocessors that are quite capable of
handling moderately complex voice and audio processing. Many
non-audio-centric consumer products already contain such processors—and
they're sitting idle much of the time, just waiting to be recruited for
new audio features.
Of course, a number of non-audio-centric
consumer products already offer digital audio capabilities. One example
of a common digital audio feature is voice memo, which lets you record
a short message for later playback. Many digital cameras provide this
feature (so that you can record commentary for your pictures, such as
the fact that Aunt Edna had consumed several martinis prior to posing
for the current shot). Speech synthesis is another example. I recently
used a ceiling-mounted overhead projector that “spoke” status messages,
such as “the projector is warming up now.” This is really helpful when
you can't get near the machine without a ladder.
Everywhere I look, I see products that could be improved by
adding digital audio. For example, integrating voice memo capability
into a car audio system is one obvious opportunity. No more scrounging
around for a pen and a scrap of paper to jot down a note; just press a
button on your steering wheel, speak your reminder, and you're done.
When you turn off the engine, a discreet tone could remind you that
you've recorded a voice message, and another press of the button could
play it back for you. Or, using wireless LAN capabilities, the message
could be sent to your PC or PDA for later playback.
Adding basic digital audio capabilities to consumer products is
fairly straightforward and inexpensive, and can provide real value. Ten
years from now, I predict we'll have digital audio capabilities
embedded in devices throughout our homes, cars, and offices—right
alongside those ubiquitous digital clocks.
[Jeff Bier is the general manager of Berkeley
Design Technology Inc. (www.BDTI.com), the
digital signal-processing technology analysis
and consulting company. Jennifer Eyre of
BDTI contributed to this column.]
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