Chirp and DSP Group have announced the Chirp SDK reference design for sound-based data transmission.

The design kit combines Chirp’s ultrasonic signaling protocol for smart-enabled devices with DSP Group’s Smartvoice technology to allow connectivity between nearby devices without set up, pairing, or configuration.

Chirp’s ultrasonic machine-to-machine communications software enables any device with a loudspeaker or microphone to exchange data using ultrasonic sound waves.

As a general-purpose data transport layer, the Chirp SDK’s applications could include presence detection, interactive toys, smart home devices.

Chirp SDK is a software design which means it can be incorporated into third-party OEMs’ smart-enabled devices without changes to the existing bill of material, provided audio IO is already present.

Integrated with DSP Group’s chipsets as a device-provisioning solution, Chirp’s data-over-sound technology can bring an offline device onto a wireless network in a single step.

In this scenario a configuring device, often a user’s mobile phone, encodes network credentials into an ultrasonic signal using the SDK.

The signal is then received by the offline device’s microphone and the credentials decoded, allowing it to connect directly to the network, bypassing manual provisioning procedures.

The company addresses obvious privacy concerns, noting the SDK functions completely offline without requiring network access of any kind, and without recording or storing any audio or audio metadata on the device.

“Partnering with DSP Group to extend the use of data-over-sound for smart consumer applications underscores the power of sound as a versatile and cost-effective means of enhancing connectivity. said James Nesfield, CEO of Chirp.

Yosi Brosh, CVP, Smartvoice product line of DSP Group. “Chirp’s data-over-sound technology can easily be deployed on our voice processors to provide our customers both a quick scalable solution for device setup and configuration, as well as more options to take advantage of ultra-wide-bandwidth sound sensing, detection, and processing in the smart home.”

Chirp has also recently partnered with Linkplay on a turnkey audio provisioning solution and Arduino on compatibility with its Nano 33 BLE Sense board.