With broadcast, live entertainment and A/V installation markets in its sights, the Skylark BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) digital wireless module has been launched jointly by Belfast-based Audio Codecs Ltd and New Zealand-based RF consultancy Virscient.
The Skylark BLE Module is based around the Nordic nRF53 platform and boasts audio in/audio out latencies <10ms, as well as a significantly more robust link than present Bluetooth implementations. Available as standalone and a licensed OEM products, Skylark BLE claims the dual benefit of using a popular platform and providing professional grade audio performance. Additionally, it is expected to appeal to the emerging Vlogger market and is a suitable candidate for houses of worship, gaming and karaoke applications.
The launch of Skylark BLE is the result of a collaboration between Audio Codecs Ltd, which develops the low-latency (<2ms), high-quality (48kHz, 24-bit) Skylark digital audio data compression algorithm, and Virscient, a consultancy with expertise in wireless and the Internet and an international reputation for developing products for leading semiconductor and manufacturing companies.
The Skylark BLE module runs on the application processor and incorporates Audio Codec’s Skylark algorithm and Antennaware’s Bodywave RF antenna – a versatile antenna designed to address the effects of ‘body blocking’ and the audio drop-outs this can cause. Virscient has added its own proprietary RF middleware which, combined with the inherent resilience in of Skylark and the additional 20dB of gain due to Bodywave, ensures a solid Bluetooth RF link. This solution of platform, antenna and codec offers performance figures that were considered almost impossible due to the vagaries of Bluetooth operating in the cluttered 2.4GHz spectrum.
‘By leveraging the popular Nordic Bluetooth Low Energy platform and using the exceptional design skills of the Virscient team, we have been able to demonstrate the value and quality of both the Bodywave RF antenna and the Skylark audio codec,’ says Jonny McClintock, spokesman for the consortium. ‘End-users will enjoy a rock-solid link and incredible audio, all delivered at a previously impossible 10ms.’
McClintock adds that the consortium is planning to reduce the latency further and will also be supporting alternative RF frequencies such as UWB – a move that will address the rapidly emerging Headphone 3.0 market.
