In the average American home today you will probably find ten or twenty separate digital clocks. There is one in your computer, of course, but there's probably also one on the stove, one on the VCR, one on the radio, one on your coffee machine, one on your microwave oven—your home is probably infested with them. There's a good reason for this. For products that already include an embedded processor, the addition of clock functionality comes almost for free. Just add an LCD display and a little software and you're there. And these clocks aren't just inexpensive doo-dads meant to fill up the feature list; they make it possible to offer a more useful product—for example, an oven that lets you program starting and ending cook times. I have a hunch that digital audio capabilities will soon follow the trajectory of digital clocks.
In the past, digital audio features were found mostly in fairly expensive products. This was primarily because processors that had enough horsepower to implement digital audio were just too expensive to be included in cost-sensitive products. These days, though, there are many inexpensive, competent microprocessors that are quite capable of handling moderately complex voice and audio processing. Many non-audio-centric consumer products already contain such processors—and they're sitting idle much of the time, just waiting to be recruited for new audio features.
Of course, a number of non-audio-centric consumer products already offer digital audio capabilities. One example of a common digital audio feature is voice memo, which lets you record a short message for later playback. Many digital cameras provide this feature (so that you can record commentary for your pictures, such as the fact that Aunt Edna had consumed several martinis prior to posing for the current shot). Speech synthesis is another example. I recently used a ceiling-mounted overhead projector that “spoke” status messages, such as “the projector is warming up now.” This is really helpful when you can't get near the machine without a ladder.
Everywhere I look, I see products that could be improved by adding digital audio. For example, integrating voice memo capability into a car audio system is one obvious opportunity. No more scrounging around for a pen and a scrap of paper to jot down a note; just press a button on your steering wheel, speak your reminder, and you're done. When you turn off the engine, a discreet tone could remind you that you've recorded a voice message, and another press of the button could play it back for you. Or, using wireless LAN capabilities, the message could be sent to your PC or PDA for later playback.
Adding basic digital audio capabilities to consumer products is fairly straightforward and inexpensive, and can provide real value. Ten years from now, I predict we'll have digital audio capabilities embedded in devices throughout our homes, cars, and offices—right alongside those ubiquitous digital clocks.
Jennifer Eyre White of BDTI contributed to this article.
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