Adding to the Family: ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0

Adding voice interactivity to your project or product is something that many people would love to do. In 2016, Seeed with the help of our Kickstarter backers launched the ReSpeaker Core and ReSpeaker Mic Array (discontinued). Over time we began to realize two things — first, that we were very interested in continuing to pursue this area of voice interaction, and second, that we needed to have solutions that we could customize for customers who wanted them to scale. We released the 2-Mic Array and 4-Mic Array HATS for Raspberry Pi, enabling makers on a budget to get into the voice interface world and explore what is possible. However, for the second goal we began to look into new solutions for developers. This resulted in the the ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0 and ReSpeaker Core v2.0.

The ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0 is a hardware-based solution for creating or adding voice interface to your projects. The board is a far-field microphone array device capable of detecting voices up to 5m away, even with the presence of background noise. The onboard hardware-enabled algorithms are powered by the XMOS XVF-3000. It is compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows.

There are three major changes, all stemming from the XMOS XVF3000.

The first major change is in the quality of the algorithms. The ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0 continues to have the same onboard hardware-enabled audio processing algorithms that its predecessor had. What has changed, though, is the quality of those algorithms. Specifically, the AEC (Acoustic Echo Cancellation) algorithm received quite an upgrade. This is now a full-duplex solution, meaning that the device can continue to play audio while also listening to its environment. Previously, the audio had to be paused in order to properly record. It enables barge-in support as well — barge-in supports new voice/sounds when they enter the environment, providing them a chance to be heard, even when noticeably quieter than other sounds.

Second, we reduced the microphones from seven to four. The reduction in microphones has allowed us reduce the cost of the board. With the updated algorithms stated above, the final voice processing quality has not dropped, but rather improved.

Last, this board is customizable.The new chipset allows for both a circular array and linear array to be designed, along with the ability to change the spacing of the microphones. This is great for fitting the solution into your products. We are looking forward to including this chipset into our OPL and also offering our own customization and manufacturing services for customers.

We hope you enjoy the new version of the ReSpeaker Mic Array (shop now). For more technical information, you can check out our Wiki. If you have questions or comments please post them on our forum. For bulk sales or distribution requests contact .