In August 2009, Kolila was commissioned to work on a project to develop a Bluetooth® enabled stereo/loudspeaker system for use in outdoor activity areas, for example a Skateboard park.

The idea being that it would provide users with a simple to use, high quality audio system that can be accessed using a Bluetooth® wireless technology link via a smart phone, laptop, PDA, MP3 etc., so that music can be transmitted and shared around the park.

Much of the work has been achieved using a CSR Bluecore-5mm chip on a custom designed hardware board. The profiles supported in this particular project are A2DP/AVRCP for music and SPP for configuration. Kolila worked on the firmware for this project from the design stage, through qualification to final production.

We have worked alongside this customer ever since, helping them to design and develop other audio equipment to complement their existing range of products.

This project was commissioned by a leading supplier of accessories for high-end motorbikes. Based in the USA, the customer sells it’s range of helmets, headsets, CB radio kits and other accessories globally.

When we were first approached by the customer, they had an existing range of wired motorcycle headsets that they had designed themselves. Seeing the growing demand for wireless headsets, the customer wished to develop their own range of Bluetooth®-based products but had no pre-existing Bluetooth expertise. We thus worked with them to integrate our Bluetooth® technology into their headset hardware design.

We have now been working with this particular customer for over 2 years and have helped them to develop a range of headsets with progressively greater and greater functionality.

The top of the range products now have 3 operating modes ‐ standard Bluetooth® headset, whereby the headset can connect simultaneously to a mobile phone and a GPS receiver / media player, bike to bike intercom mode, whereby the headset connects to the bike’s own intercom system via a separate Bluetooth® adapter that we also developed, and rider to passenger headset to headset intercom mode that also allows a mobile phone to be connected.

When the headset is operating in standard headset mode, it uses the standard Bluetooth® profiles for phone connectivity (HFP/HSP) and standard stereo audio profiles (A2DP and AVRCP). When the headset is in either of the intercom modes, bespoke audio encodings are used in order to minimise audio latency whilst maximising the audio quality.