BLE audio codec targets power-sensitive audio/voice apps

Synopsys announced the availability of the Bluetooth LE Audio LC3 Codec optimized for Synopsys’ DesignWare ARC EM DSP and HS DSP processor IP. The LC3 codec is an important feature of Bluetooth LE Audio, the soon-to-be-released next-generation audio standard defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) that enables system-on-chip (SoC) designers to efficiently implement high-quality voice and audio streaming in a wide range of applications, including mobile, wearables, and home automation.

The LC3 codec for ARC processors is based on an implementation by Fraunhofer IIS that is designed to meet Bluetooth SIG requirements. The new LC3 codec, running on ARC EM and HS DSP processors, allows designers to rapidly integrate a complete, pre-verified hardware and software solution for voice and speech processing into Bluetooth-enabled devices requiring minimal energy consumption.

The 32-bit DesignWare ARC EM and HS DSP processors are based on the scalable ARCv2DSP Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) and integrate RISC and DSP capabilities for a flexible processing architecture. The ARC EM DSP processors offer ultra-low power and industry-leading performance efficiency while the multi-core-capable ARC HS DSP processors provide a unique combination of high-performance control and high-efficiency digital signal processing.

All ARC processors are supported by the ARC MetaWare Development Toolkit, which includes a rich library of DSP functions to allow software engineers to rapidly implement algorithms from standard DSP building blocks. In addition, ARC processors and the LC3 codec can be combined with Synopsys’ Bluetooth 5.1-compliant DesignWare