Drive System for Rotating Smart Speaker Facilitates Voice Interaction

ZHAOWEI has upgraded the micro drive system for rotating smart speakers. Resolving with the pain points of smart speakers on the market, ZHAOWEI has optimized the intelligent rotary deceleration module to facilitate voice interaction, turning the functional era into the intelligent era.

In conventional speakers, the pickup process is done manually by controlling the movement of the speaker. This type of arrangement may not function effectively in a space where people are talking. Sometimes, the speakers are mounted at fixed points thus forcing members in a room to awkwardly face towards the speakers throughout the discussion. Additionally, the sound of those sitting at the far end of the table is poorly captured and thus it is not clear who is speaking, causing a lack in interaction. Therefore, together with artificial intelligence (AI), ZHAOWEI aims to provide a drive system composed of a PMDC motor and planetary gearhead for smart speaker rotation that will help to automatically track the sound signals, enabling responsive voice interaction and ensuring a pleasant experience for the ears.   

Automatic Position Adjustment  

The ZHAOWEI smart speaker drive system is used with the encoder of the speaker and placed at the bottom of the speaker. The rotating base is connected with the controlling part, both of which are fixed devices. The latter is electrically connected with the audio part. Based on continuous innovation and improvement, this deceleration module features a compact structure and small size. The speaker cabinet achieves audio playback using audio components. When volume adjustment is required during use, the rotating part is driven by the ZHAOWEI deceleration module to make the rotary encoder work. The rotary encoder will transmit the displacement signal to the controlling part which further controls the volume according to the signal received. This enables users to adjust the volume of audio playback flexibly, solving the problem of locating far-field pickup sound sources and improving the efficiency of recognition. It is no longer difficult for speakers to automatically adjust the position, form a beam, suppress noise and reduce echo. 

Empowering 360° Free Rotation

ZHAOWEI’s drive system for smart speakers allows for 360° free rotation. Compared with an ordinary smart speaker, it shows a stronger performance since it adopts a permanent magnet DC motor as the driving source. It also effectively diminishes the vibration and noise of the speaker through use of a planetary gear drive system consisting of a worm and helical gear. Therefore, it produces an amazing auditory experience without any unexpected sounds. Based on finite element analysis of the tooth profile, ZHAOWEI removes the obstacles of short service life and poor backlash. It makes separation and alternation between dual-channel stereo and four-channel dual stereo possible. Thus, the stereo range for listening is broad and an ideal background effect can be achieved through synchronous operation of sound and light. 

Voice interaction is one step of the smart speakers’ AI strategy. In the future, the improvement of voice interaction ability and the upgrades of voice systems will further promote the development of the AI market. Nowadays, manufacturers are actively exploring new concepts. Smart speaker manufacturers are embracing the opportunities, and ZHAOWEI gives a renewed meaning with its gear drive system.   

As one of ZHAOWEI’s project managers said, “We realize that there is a lot of room for development when it comes to interactive smart speakers. To empower each manufacturer in this field, we are excited to roll out such an upgraded micro-drive system for the smart speaker. Our goal is to help achieve sensitive voice tracking, hassle-free voice interaction and flexible rotation.”