TDK InvenSense was named the winner of the most innovative product in the IoT category of the Best of Sensors Awards 2020 for its ICS-40800 Directional Microphone. Entries were judged and winners selected on the basis of value to the marketplace, uniqueness of the design, and the impact (i.e., the “bigness” of the problems solved or issues addressed).
InvenSense, a TDK Group Company, is a world-leading provider of the MEMS sensor platforms found in Mobile, Wearable, Smart Home, Industrial, and Automotive products. The company’s patented fabrication platform, MotionFusion technology, audio solutions, and location software and services addresses the emerging need of many mass-market consumer applications via improved performance, accuracy, and intuitive motion-, gesture-, sound-, and ultrasonic 3D-based interfaces.
Humans intuitively understand audio capture to be a critical factor in awareness of their surroundings. InvenSense is working to enable the same level of awareness for smart devices with leading-edge MEMS microphones. InvenSense combines the capability to sense audio along with cutting-edge motion detection, which is important for many contextual awareness applications.
InvenSense’s analog and digital microphone portfolios build on a strong heritage of industry firsts, including continuous improvement of MEMS microphone signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), ever-higher integration levels, and ever lower power consumption. Technological advances like these have enabled machine speech recognition and adaptive noise suppression to become commonplace in consumer devices and other applications.
The ICS-40800 is an ultra-low noise, analog output, dual-ported MEMS microphone. The ICS-40800 includes a MEMS microphone element, an impedance converter, and an output amplifier.
The ICS-40800 is constructed from two sound ports, located on the bottom and top of the assembly. This dual-port arrangement allows for the microphone to exhibit variable sensitivity to sound based on angle of arrival. If required, the top port can be sealed off resulting in an omni-directional sensitivity to sound.
The ICS-40800’s 70 dB SNR and ±1 dB sensitivity tolerance make it an excellent choice for far field voice control and speech applications. The ICS-40800 is available in a small 4.00 mm × 3.00 mm × 1.20 mm surface-mount package.
“MEMS microphones have been available for over a decade, but they do not appear to have the performance and the unique directionality performance of that stated with the TDK InvenSense device. The ability to be directional greatly enhances the user experience by reducing peripheral noise and providing a much clearer sound to the user. This is especially true in the mobile phone application where the user is in a noisy ambient environment. The market for this type of device is huge. Other portable electronics applications existing in the wearables and IoT segments can also benefit with the adoption of this device into products,” said Judge Roger Grace, Founder, Roger Grace Associates.
For full list of finalists in the Best of Sensors 2020 Awards:
https://www.fierceelectronics.com/sensors/best-sensors-awards-2020-finalists-announced