QNX Software Systems has announced a new release of its Aviage acoustic processing kit, which is designed to reduce the cost and improve the quality of automotive hands-free systems.

Aviage acoustic processing software replaces dedicated voice- processing hardware. It uses patented algorithms to extract the human voice from noisy car interiors, thus improving the clarity and user experience of handsfree phone conversations.

The new release adds automatic gain control to maximize the dynamic range of incoming audio; a parametric equalizer for precise control over in-car sound quality; dynamic level control for automatically raising volume levels during periods of high cabin noise; a limiter/compressor to provide consistent speech level; a bandwidth extension feature for fuller- sounding conversations; and an enhanced diagnostics module to simplify system integration issues.

QNX said tuning noise suppression and echo cancellation for a specific vehicle can be done in less than half a day with the kit, whereas it could otherwise take a week or more. The new release includes a Windows-based, remote-control utility that lets developers turn features on or off interactively, tweak settings, adjust performance, start and stop streaming audio, restart and reset the library, log events, and run diagnostics – all while a handsfree call is in progress.

The kit runs on a variety of 32-bit CPUs and DSPs, including ARM9+, SH-4+, PowerPC processors, and TI C64x DSPs.