Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!mips!daver!cypress!gbr
From: gbr@cypress.UUCP ( PROM Design)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Speech Synthesizer chipsets?
Summary: Look at ISD analog eeprom
Message-ID: <760@cypress.UUCP>
Date: 20 Feb 91 03:03:38 GMT
References: <28283@ucsd.Edu>
Organization: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
Lines: 58

In article <28283@ucsd.Edu> brian@ucsd.Edu (Brian Kantor) writes:
>I'm working on an application that requires a modest vocabulary of
>stored speech for telemetry - typically some electronics jargon, words
>like "alarm", "battery", "off", "on", and the numbers.
>
>In the past I've used the Digitalker chipset, with both vocabulary
>sets that were available for it, but some of the words I would have
>liked to have just weren't in the vocabularies, and I don't think I
>can record my own for it.
>
>I don't mind recording and digitizing my own words if I can do it
>cheaply.  The application is an embedded controller that has no bulk
>storage (i.e., ROM only, no disk) and only needs to have telephone-
>quality speech.
>
>I'd really like something that would speak a whole word or phrase
>without any significant attention from the control processor - with the
>Digitalker, you just select the word address and strobe it, and it
>signals when it's done.
>
>Suggestions?   MAIL to me and I'll summarize for the group.
>
>	Brian Kantor	UC San Diego
>	brian@ucsd.edu	ucsd!brian	BRIAN@UCSD


Interesting you should bring this up...I saw an interesting device at
the ISSCC conference here in SF last week. It's an EEPROM capable of 
sampling and storing sound, with an integrated input filter (anti-
aliasing) and output power amp. All you need to get solid state 
recording is an external mike, speaker, battery, and a few other
discretes. The model they have available at the moment stores 16
seconds of sound with a S/N ratio of 40dB and 3400Hz bandwith.

What makes this so useful is the integration of I/O and the non-volatile
(i.e. no battery backup) storage on the same chip. With the ability
to store sounds at specific addresses you can sequence bits of
sound or phrases under external control, and you can stack the
chips for more time.

What makes it most interesting, however, is that they don't use
any digitizing circuits--the analog input signal is stored in the
EEPROM cell as an analog voltage on the floating gate, allowing a
complete sample to be stored in one cell (as opposed to 8 cells in
a digital storage scheme for similar resolution).

At any rate, the company is ISD and their address is 2841 Junction
Ave., Suite 204, San Jose, CA  95134; and the phone number is 
800-825-4473. The price for the ISD1016 (described above) is supposed
to be about $20, with other products planned.

Disclaimer: I have no connection with ISD, not even as a customer-
I just thought it was a pretty novel and interesting design.




glen rosendale		cypress semiconductor	   gbr@cypress.uucp


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