Voice control has become a standard feature in consumer electronics. We expect our earbuds to pickup our voice during phone calls, laptops to deliver clear audio in meetings, and our voice assistants to respond instantly. Road noise inside a car, background conversations in an office or a busy café can all easily overwhelm conventional microphones, forcing users to repeat commands or raise their voice. Traditional omnidirectional microphones capture sound from every direction. While software can remove part of the unwanted noise, it first has to process everything the microphone records. This increases computational complexity and often compromises in audio quality.
A different approach from Soundskrit is to make the microphones directional. Instead of relying entirely on DSP or AI after the sound has been captured, the microphone is designed from the ground up to prioritize the sound coming from the desired direction. The result is cleaner audio before any software processing begins.
This is possible through a completely new MEMS architecture. The MEMS element has been redesigned allowing it to detect the direction of incoming sound with high precision. Soundskrit has also developed a new capacitive readout architecture that minimizes mechanical interference with the MEMS element, allowing it to move freely, improving sensitivity. The package itself has also been optimized to preserve directionality across the full audio spectrum, while maintaining one of the smallest directional microphone form factors available today.
The hardware is complemented by software specifically developed for directional microphones. Soundskrit's processing algorithms are built around the unique characteristics of its MEMS technology rather than adapting conventional beamforming techniques. This enables advanced features such as background noise reduction, reverberation removal, multi-speaker tracking, and 3D sound source localisation. The software has been implemented on leading embedded platforms, including Qualcomm and ARM based processors, making integration straightforward for product developers.
The combination of hardware and software creates clear advantages across many applications:
- For webcams, laptops, and tablets, directional microphones create a quiet listening zone around the user. Remote meetings become clearer because surrounding conversations and office noise are significantly reduced. The same technology can also improve conference devices by accurately capturing voices across an entire meeting room.
Automotive systems also benefit. Engine noise, road noise, wind, and passengers all compete with the driver's voice. Directional MEMS microphones improve voice pickup directly at the hardware level, allowing phone calls to sound clearer while making voice assistants more responsive. This reduces the need for drivers to repeat commands, helping them stay focused on the road.
Wireless audio products such as earbuds and headsets present another challenge where space and power are limited. Soundskrit's highly directional microphones can achieve excellent voice isolation with fewer microphones than traditional solutions, reducing system complexity, power consumption and requiring less space.
For engineers evaluating the technology, Soundskrit offers a range of kits that allow both hardware and software capabilities to be explored. These kits provide a practical starting point for testing directional voice capture in real-world applications before moving into product development.
If you are considering directional MEMS microphones for your next design, Indesmatech can help you select the most suitable Soundskrit demonstration kit, evaluate the technology, and support your integration from concept through production.
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