Blackfin based hands-free car kit

Mistral Software has announced the availability of a highly versatile Bluetooth based hands-free car kit (HFCK) based on Analog Devices' Blackfin car telematics platform. Designed for usage in the automotive environment, the HFCK is geared to meet the key parameters of wireless telephony and driver safety. Automotive infotainment is emerging as the next battleground for digital devices in vehicles.

From telematics to back seat entertainment systems, the vehicle is fast becoming a mobile media centre on wheels capable of managing content and information for entertainment, productivity and safety, enhancing the driving experience.

The introduction of Bluetooth into the automotive environment promises to enable a slew of sophisticated automotive applications.

Increased penetration of Bluetooth on mobile phones and stringent laws banning cell-phone talking while driving has spurred vehicle manufacturers to providing hands-free mobile usage features.

The HFCK development/reference platform is built on Analog Devices' Blackfin processor which offers a combination of digital signal processing (DSP) and microprocessor functionality, suitable for the embedded audio, video and communications requirements found in today's automotive applications.

Designed for usage in the automotive environment the HFCK provides complete hands free operation to the user to make/receive calls on GSM mobile phone, either through wired GSM handset, embedded GSM or Bluetooth interface.

The device also provides audio streaming over Bluetooth to play encoded audio data (MP3, AAC, WMA) coming from source device like handheld jukebox.

The HFCK integrates the latest voice processing algorithms AEC/NR, delivering the highest quality speech in noisy automotive environments.

Some of the other features of the HFCK include: 'The HFCK offers a high performance, low cost solution to vehicle manufacturers, after market product companies or anyone building gadgets that require Hands-Free capabilities'.

'The design, based on a single Blackfin processor is powerful enough to reduce telematics system costs, size and development time by integrating features like Bluetooth, GSM (Voice/SMS), ASR/TTS and streaming audio onto a single processing platform', said Anees Ahmed, President and CEO, Mistral Software.

'Mistral has designed multiple variants of the Hands-free Car Kit, from a low-cost basic version to advanced hands-free versions bringing in scalability into the system'.

'The HFCK is available in various flavors like basic/traditional hands free, Car phone, Hands-free with Bluetooth and Advance hands-free with audio streaming over Bluetooth'.

'This scalability allows for customisation to a small form factor, low cost design, with the shortest time-to-market, ideal as both an OEM and after-market solution', he added.

'The HFCK platform designed by Mistral Software is a further example of how the unique attributes of the Blackfin processor can converge a diverse set of traditionally separate DSP and Microprocessor applications on to a single cost-efficient processor'.

'The scalability of the Blackfin family will allow Mistral Software to keep pace with the consumers' appetite for the addition of new features in to the ever expanding landscape of 'Telematics', said Mark Gill, Director of Automotive DSP Products, Analog Devices.