Audio Analytic: Intelligent sound
detection for your smart home
Background
As the security-centric smart home becomes a hot topic,
CCTV still plays a key role. But current systems fail to
deliver results if the event is outside the camera’s view, or
if it is more naturally detected by an audio cue (such as a
smoke alarm going off or a baby crying). These challenges
can now be addressed by industry leading sound
recognition pioneer Audio Analytic.
Since its inception, Audio Analytic has proved to be
reliable, adopted widely in the professional security market
and homes. It is currently deployed into cities, university
campuses, retailers, hospitals and households. The
software can be used to detect sounds such as a smoke
alarm, a baby crying or glass-breaking, which in turn,
trigger alerts to the user who can react to incidents as soon
as they happen.
It was recognised at the 2014 IET Innovation Awards
for Consumer Electronics due to its creative design, as
well as proving to be an example of how engineering can
transform lives.
Motivation
Audio Analytic originated within the professional security
market but has since developed and matured to enter
the consumer market. The company was founded 5
years ago by Dr Chris Mitchell, following the completion
of his self-funded PhD in sound information systems and
signal processing. Recognising the social need to improve
sound, he wanted to apply this knowledge to everyday
applications.
“The opportunity was clear. Whether it was to improve
public safety, reduce economic waste by reducing
response times to incidents or even improve the wellbeing
of vulnerable adults, I knew the benefits of the technology
would be felt widely,” comments Mitchell.
Development
Following his PhD, Mitchell received a prestigious
Kauffman/NCGE Fellowship to investigate the commercial
implications of his research. He subsequently received
training at Harvard Business School and worked with
Cisco Systems in San Jose, USA. It was here that Chris
recognised a need for exploiting audio, rather than video
to monitor and respond to changes within an environment
and so, Audio Analytics was born.
In identifying this gap in the market, Mitchell was able
to apply the knowledge gained through his PhD and
fellowship into understanding how audio technology
could be used. It was here that Mitchell created the first
prototype software, which was then implemented at a UK
hospital. By immersing the prototype in this environment,
Mitchell was able to gain the understanding of the
technology’s boundaries, a challenge that he was able to
overcome in order to stay ahead of the competition.
When Mitchell returned to the UK, he set up the company
in Cambridge. The company received its first round of
funding in 2010, which was invested into version one of
its professional security products Glass Break, Aggression,
Car Alarm and Gunshot. This first iteration of the product
enabled users to detect and monitor for these sounds so
that if triggered, the user is able to respond quickly and
with the best response.
Essential Engineering Intelligence for Built Environment and Information & Communications
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Results
The team first experienced success when it secured
a global licensing agreement with Zenitel, a leader
and supplier of the STENTOFON® brand of security
communication systems. The company chose to deploy
the gunshot analytics, but it soon expanded its licenses to
other analytics as part of its product offering.
By 2012, the team began to emerge as a leader in sound
recognition and categorisation. It had secured deals with
world leading security manufacturers including Cisco, Next
Level Security Systems and AxxonSoft which allowed the
company to begin exploring the consumer market. A year
later, Audio Analytic announced the version one release of
its consumer product, which was able to detect Smoke and
Carbon Monoxide, as well as a baby cry.
In bringing this technology to the consumer market,
customers such as Swann believed that the technology
had real benefit to the general public; specifically analytics
which detect crying babies or smoke alarm tones that
will subsequently help to reduce distress and save lives.
The team behind Audio Analytic identified the social and
economic change the technology could bring and as such,
believed it would make a worthy contender for the 2014
IET Innovation Awards.
“The IET is known all over the world as the home of
engineering and a big support system for progressive
thinkers. It has enormous prestige and the team felt that
entering the IET’s award programme would add credibility
to our brand,” comments Mitchell.
In its submission, Audio Analytic proved how the
technology had improved public safety for members of the
public looking to secure their home. The technology also
proved benefits for the environment in cases of accident
detection and faster response times, which led to shorter
hospital stays. Lastly, the technology showed that it could
improve the wellbeing of vulnerable adults.
“Winning this prestigious, global accolade is a further
demonstration of the innovation behind our sound sensing
technology – and how it can benefit consumer electronics
companies looking to add sound recognition to their
products,” said Mitchell. “We are seeing growing interest
in incorporating our technology into products within the
connected home. This award will help us accelerate
forward in the consumer electronics market as the
company expands.”
The Future
Audio Analytic continues to push the bounders of its
technology not only with its internal R&D team, but also by
partnering with Academia. By the end of 2014, the team
secured $1.4 million in funding the future development
of the technology. It also teamed up with Queen Mary’s
University London and was awarded a further $500,000 by
the Technology Strategy Board in order to exploit a wider
range of the application, stemming from the company’s
core technology.
“In the next five years we will continue to keep our core
set of values and strive to remain the leader in sound
recognition and categorisation. By expanding the amount
of sounds detected and applications, we will be able
to move towards a future in home automation that is
completely controlled by the mobile device. The growing
Internet of Things trend will go hand in hand with Audio
Analytic, and the continued support from the IET will help
us seize this opportunity.”
Audio Analytic founder, Dr Chris Mitchell
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is working to engineer a better world. We inspire, inform and infl uence the global engineering community, supporting technology
innovation to meet the needs of society. The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England and Wales (No. 211014) and Scotland (No. SCO38698).
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