NXP Launches i.MX RT Crossover MCU for Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service

NXP recently unveiled their new i.MX RT Crossover MCU voice control platform that’s qualified with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service (AVS), which will allow developers to integrate voice control capabilities into their products. According to NXP, the MCU/AVS solution brings low-latency, far field, wake-word detection, DSP capabilities, and allows manufacturers to take advantage of Amazon’s FreeRTOS IoT OS for microcontrollers.

“NXP’s production-ready solution is a time-and-cost-effective way for OEMs to build Alexa into their products. It’s fantastic to see NXP create another solution that simplifies the integration process and enables device makers to bring Alexa built-in products to market even faster.” — Priya Abani, AVS Director

In terms of hardware, the i.MX RT 106A Crossover MCU features an Arm Cortex-M7 processor (1Mb of SRAM, 32K I-cache/D-cache, FPU), a TFA9894D DSP (supports 3X MEMS microphones, 2X external digital microphones), 8-/16-bit Parallel Camera Interface, Bluetooth/BLE 4.1, and an (optional) A71CH secure element to handle end-to-end security. The board also sports a secure interface JTAG, PLL OSC, eDMA, 4x Watch Dog, 6x GP Timer, 4x Quadrature ENC, 4x QuadTimer, 4x FlexPWM, and IOMUX.

At this point, NXP is working with OEMs to provide them with i.MX RT 106A MCU/AVS evaluation and development kits, while market-wide availability will roll out later this year. It should be noted that NXP is offering an Alexa product testing service at its Mougins and Sophia-Antipolis facilities for manufacturers to test their designs before sending them to Amazon for final evaluation. It’s also a requirement for those using the platform for products that support music or are far-field enabled. More information can be found on NXP’s i.MX RT 106A MCU product page.