CEVA Bluebud Platform Takes Center Stage for a Differentiated, Premium Wireless Audio Experience in TWS Earbuds, Gaming Headsets, Hearables, Wearables and More

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2022 -- Consumer Electronics Show -- CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies and integrated IP solutions, today announced that it has enhanced the software offerings and tool kits for its highly successful Bluebud wireless audio platform with the addition of Bluebud-HD, a pre-configured software package that includes all the audio, voice and context-aware software required in premium TWS earbuds, gaming headsets, hearables, wearables and other smart audio products.

CEVA also announced today that its SenslinQ software framework and the CEVA-BX1 DSP tool kit have been upgraded for the Bluebud platform to streamline the addition of 3^rd party DSP algorithms and to facilitate the easy migration of existing software from other processor architectures. Host CPU application developers benefit from the OpenAMP API for virtualized access to the feature sets enabled by Bluebud-HD and other audio, voice and speech software available through the CEVAnet partner ecosystem. The SenslinQ framework enables Bluebud customers to consolidate all audio, voice and IMU-based contextual awareness workloads onto the CEVA-BX1 DSP rather than embedding separate DSPs for wireless and audio and results in smaller die size and lower power consumption.

Research firm Yole Développement forecasts that shipments of TWS earbuds, hearing aids, smartwatches and smart speakers will surpass 1.3 billion units annually by 2026, with premium audio becoming a must-have feature for many applications such as gaming, AR/VR experiences and 3D sound. The Bluebud wireless audio platform together with the accompanying Bluebud-HD software package provides a cost and power efficient solution to semiconductors and OEMs to quickly and painlessly capitalize on the growing momentum behind the lucrative premium audio market, and overcome the high complexity and knowhow required to combine wireless and audio.

Moshe Sheier, VP Marketing of CEVA, explained: "Since the launch of Bluebud last year, we have experienced tremendous interest and licensing success with this unique platform offering. On the back of this success, we are now introducing the Bluebud-HD software package which democratizes access for the semiconductor companies, ODMs and OEMs to the second largest consumer market by volume, after smartphones. The combination of the Bluebud-HD software package, the SenslinQ software framework and the CEVA-BX1 DSP tool kit encourages partners and customers using other processor architectures to standardize around Bluebud and reduce the cost, power consumption and complexity of their wireless audio solutions."

The Bluebud-HD software package takes advantage of the on-board CEVA-BX1 DSP to consolidate a wide range of optimized HD audio, voice and context-aware modules which are otherwise processed on separate DSPs or MCUs in non-CEVA architectures. The Bluebud hardware platform has been upgraded to include CEVA's latest SIG qualified RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.3 IP, with both Classic Audio and LE Audio, and the CEVA-BX1 audio processor, together with all the required peripherals for wireless audio, in a compact low power design, with a footprint of less than 0.5mm² in 22nm.

Bluebud-HD also supports audio processing using 96KHz/24-bit precision, enabling many high-resolution audio standards. The fully integrated software package includes:

• CEVA's ClearVox™, enhanced to support up to 48KHz sampling rate, for super wideband voice conversations
• VisiSonics RS3D™ software for an immersive 3D audio experience
• CEVA's MotionEngine™ Hear software for accurate head tracking, in-ear detection, and tap control
• Personalized hearing tuning for adaptation to each listener's hearing
• LHDC high definition audio codec
• CEVA's SenslinQ DSP software framework for plug and play power efficient native DSP algorithms
• Bluebud-HD SDK

Erez Bar-Niv, CTO of CEVA, commented: "The ability to solve our customers 'pain-points' for the development of wireless audio products and allowing them to virtualize DSP applications from the host CPU without directly programming the DSP using the SenslinQ framework, streamlines their development and further allows them to utilize the Bluebud platform for more advanced use cases. The breadth of features provided by the Bluebud-HD software solution, such as high-definition audio and voice, personalized hearing, 3D audio, and contextual awareness, is unprecedented and aligns with the most demanding use cases of top-tier audio device makers."

Availability

The Bluebud platform, Bluebud-HD software package and SenslinQ software framework are available for licensing today. For more information, visit https://www.ceva-dsp.com/product/ceva-bluebud/

About CEVA, Inc.

CEVA is the leading licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies and integrated IP solutions for a smarter, safer, connected world. We provide Digital Signal Processors, AI engines, wireless platforms, cryptography cores and complementary software for sensor fusion, image enhancement, computer vision, voice input and artificial intelligence. These technologies are offered in combination with our Intrinsix IP integration services, helping our customers address their most complex and time-critical integrated circuit design projects. Leveraging our technologies and chip design skills, many of the world's leading semiconductors, system companies and OEMs create power-efficient, intelligent, secure and connected devices for a range of end markets, including mobile, consumer, automotive, robotics, industrial, aerospace & defense and IoT.

Our DSP-based solutions include platforms for 5G baseband processing in mobile, IoT and infrastructure, advanced imaging and computer vision for any camera-enabled device, audio/voice/speech and ultra-low-power always-on/sensing applications for multiple IoT markets. For sensor fusion, our Hillcrest Labs sensor processing technologies provide a broad range of sensor fusion software and inertial measurement unit ("IMU") solutions for markets including hearables, wearables, AR/VR, PC, robotics, remote controls and IoT. For wireless IoT, our platforms for Bluetooth (low energy and dual mode), Wi-Fi 4/5/6/6e (802.11n/ac/ax), Ultra-wideband (UWB) and NB-IoT are the most broadly licensed connectivity platforms in the industry.

Visit us at www.ceva-dsp.com.