New reference design offers far-field speech processing to hardware manufacturers, making it simple, fast, and cost-effective to create new devices with Amazon Alexa

Luxembourg, 13^th April 2017—Amazon today announced that for the first time it is making the high-performance far-field microphone array and voice processing technology found in Amazon Echo available to hardware makers who want to build the Alexa experience into their products. With the Amazon Alexa 7-Mic Far-Field Development Kit, Amazon is making it easier for commercial developers to build and launch far-field voice initiated products with Alexa by reducing development time and cost.

“Since the introduction of Amazon Echo and Echo Dot, device makers have been asking us to provide the technology and tools to enable a far-field Alexa experience for their products,” said Priya Abani, Director, Amazon Alexa. “With this new reference solution, developers can design products with the same unique 7-mic circular array, beamforming technology, and voice processing software that have made Amazon Echo so popular with customers. It’s never been easier for device makers to integrate Alexa and offer their customers world-class voice experiences.”

The hardware-based reference solution will be supported by leading chipset providers. The solution includes:

• The same 7-microphone array found in Amazon Echo
• Amazon’s proprietary software for wake word recognition, beam forming, noise reduction, and echo cancellation
• Reference client software for local device control and communication with the Alexa Voice Service

The Amazon Alexa 7-Mic Far-Field Development Kit will be available to commercial device manufacturers through an exclusive, invite-only program. OEMs can request an invite on developer.amazon.com  and learn more about the reference solutions currently available for hardware makers wanting to integrate Alexa.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.co.uk/about.

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