STM32 MCUs and MEMS microphones help Prizm lay tracks
New Delhi, March 18, 2015 – STMicroelectronics , a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has announced its contribution to the innovative Prizm™ smart audio device, which automatically plays the perfect song, based on the number of people in the room, their music tastes and habits, and even the time of day and ambient noise levels. ST’s leading-edge microcontroller and sensor technologies enable Prizm’s smart audio and touch interactions.
Emphasizing the tone-establishing and social experience that listening to music creates, Prizm considers room occupants, their prepared profiles, and their listening history in setting a mood. When you are alone, Prizm plays music exclusively for you; when several people are in the room, Prizm merges everyone’s preferences to pick music that everyone will love. The major difference between music services and Prizm is that you do not need to tell it what you want it to play – it already knows.
Prizm, a hip French start-up based in Paris, launched in October 2014, used a Kickstarter campaign to fund its 3.8-in. tall, pyramid-shaped Prizm connected device. Receiving very strong support and positive feedback, Prizm reached its funding goal in only four days, with an overall funding of over 160,000 USD. First units, which connect to any speakers (with or without wires) and interact wirelessly with streaming services, are expected to ship in late summer 2015.
ST provides some of the technology at the heart of this ingenious product. Prizm uses a mainstream 32-bit STM32F0 ARM®Cortex® M0-based microcontroller to manage its touch interactions, and an ST MEMS microphone for ambient atmosphere detection.
“We found exactly the technical solution we needed to enable Prizm’s unique capabilities in ST’s product portfolio: high-sensitivity MEMS microphones for ambient atmosphere detection and mainstream STM32 microcontrollers with an outstanding ecosystem that made touch functions easy to implement,” declared Arthur Eberhardt, Chief Technology Officer of Prizm.
“Prizm has done a magnificent job implementing an ingenious Internet-of-Things idea that helps perfectly to set a mood—ST’s excellent portfolio of microcontrollers, complemented by a wide range of sensors, power components, security and connectivity elements, enables the quick and easy design of products across abroad spectrum of electronics applications,” said Jacky Perdrigeat, EMEA Region Vice President, STMicroelectronics.
