Interview with Dr. Franz J. Fink, President and CEO of Gennum Corporation
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Topic: Gennum Wireless Technology
Dybala: Hello, everyone. This is Dr. Paul Dybala with Audiology Online and today we are happy to be talking with Dr. Franz J. Fink who has been serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Gennum Corporation (www.gennum.com), since September 2006. So, Franz, maybe you can start by just briefly telling us a little about your background prior to Gennum.
Fink: Thanks, Paul. Well, before I was priviliged to work at Gennum, I was the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Freescale Semiconductor's (www.freescale.com) Wireless and Mobile Systems Group, and before that, I worked for Motorola (www.motorola.com) as the Vice-President and General Manager of the 32-bit Embedded Microprocessor Division. I guess I spent about 15 years between both those companies, in both the United States and Europe. Then before that from 1999 to 2001, I served as Operations Director of the Powertrain Systems Operation within the Advanced Vehicle Systems Division.
Dybala: That's quite a history! Where did you get your training before you started all of that?
Fink: Well, I earned my Master's degree in Computer Science and Electronics from the Technical University of Munich, and then attended again later to graduate with my Doctorate from the Department of Computer-Aided Design.
Dybala: Very impressive. Many persons in the field may know that Gennum supplies the chips that are used in about 50% of the hearing aids sold today. They may not know as much about Gennum's work in the wireless market. I wanted to read this excerpt straight from your website. It says, "Gennum Corporation, established in 1973, designs, manufactures and markets industry-leading semiconductors and semiconductor-based products for leading segments of the global video, audio and data communications markets." Then it says, "In our Audio & Wireless business, our knowledge of high fidelity acoustics, low power usage and miniaturized packaging is converging with new capabilities in ultra-low power short range wireless technology, resulting in new products for the hearing market and for wireless audio devices."
That seems like a pretty big job, so I wanted to talk a little today about Gennum as a company and what they are doing for the wireless market and how this could relate to hearing aids. Let's start with how the trend in wireless technology fits in to your business today.
Fink: Ok, well a good place to start with wireless technology might be cell phones. Everyone knows about cell phones, but I really like to refer to them as a convergence device. A cell phone becomes an MP3 player, and now an MP3 player becomes a cell phone, so obviously wireless technology that extends beyond cellular technology is key in today's market. This even goes beyond cell phones, headsets today that connect to MP3 players obviously use a cable, Well, we are seeing a trend of that all going wireless, right?
Dybala: Yes, absolutely.
Fink: When we think about cell phones, much like in hearing aids, we want them to be smaller. Size matters in miniaturization, right?
Dybala: [laughter] I would hope so, yes.
Fink: If you move beyond cell phones and think about things like wireless LANs, Bluetooth and set top media boxes, these devices are becoming smaller and sleeker. What makes this miniaturization possible?
Dybala: The ability for these devices to function using low-power circuitry.
Fink: Correct. What I am emphasizing is, for many wireless consumer electronic products, low power, low cost, and smaller size matters. Here is where the synergy with Gennum comes in; for years we have been developing low-power hearing aid technology, additionally, hearing aids are looking to go wireless as well.
Dybala: Can you connect where the low power technology in hearing aids ties out to devices like MP3 players and mobile phones?
Fink: Let's take headsets for example. If you want the smallest size headset plus wireless audio capability along with noise cancellation, this is the type of technology that Gennum has essentially already developed for hearing aids. We are one of the world leaders in this area and I see a lot of growth opportunities for us. Restated, Gennum technology on the hearing aid side will probably make it back to everyday consumer products.
In fact, let me go a step further. Originally, all phones were black at some point in the beginning. Now they are green, they are blue, lilac. Today, hearing aids are looked at as medical devices. At some point they will become consumer devices, as well. Why? The future is all about this new trend of new consumer devices which you must have in your ear because you are simultaneously listening to that stunning audio, video, you name it. It's going to be so much better than the conventional headset. I am guessing we might be 10 years away from that, but it's consumerization and convergence that is driving this kind of trend. Everyone will be wearing these "hearing aids", but these devices are aiding more than just persons with hearing loss. They are helping "aid" persons with normal hearing communicate and enhance their auditory experiences.
Dybala: I completely agree. Moving from the future to the present, let's talk about Gennum's new wireless technology, called Falcon. I know there's a lot of talk right now on Bluetooth, and how Bluetooth is being used as a wireless protocol. How is Falcon different from Bluetooth?
Fink: One of the biggest differences is in power consumption. Bluetooth is not really a low-power technology at this point. At best, we are looking at a few hours of battery life.
Dybala: Bluetooth currently has about 70 times greater current consumption than Falcon, correct?
Fink: Exactly. The other major difference is the audio quality. The audio fidelity you get out of Bluetooth is nothing like the Falcon. The Falcon has an absolute full bandwidth, about a 16kHz bandwidth high data rate, so you get awesome sound quality that you don't get out of Bluetooth. Therefore, bottom line for audio products such as hearing aids, you want to have Falcon as it provides a higher fidelity.
Dybala: That said, Bluetooth as a wireless technology is pretty ubiquitous. How are you addressing this with Falcon?
Fink: One of the future things that we have on our road map: integrating Bluetooth in with our Falcon devices. From a standardization view, you need to have backwards compatibility, right? There's going to be 250 million Bluetooth headsets out there, and you can't just swap all those out and replace them with newer technology like the Falcon overnight. There will have to be some kind of phasing-in and out period when this is finally released.
Dybala: Right. How is Falcon going to be integrated into the hearing aid side of things?
Fink: Well, to start, it's ultra-low power. It goes beyond what Bluetooth can currently do. You won't have to replace or charge batteries after just a few hours anymore. Call it next generation Bluetooth. Call it whatever. What it is is excellent technology with convenience.
Dybala: Is Falcon in any currently available hearing aids on the market?
Fink: Yes! One of the first product demonstrations is coming from a German hearing aid manufacturer called Audifon. They're launching a BTE with Falcon integrated in it.
Dybala: Wow! So this is the very first hearing aid which has Falcon integrated in it?
Fink: Yes it is.
Dybala: We have mentioned hearing aids communicating with mobile phones, what are some other possible hearing aid applications for Falcon?
Fink: Falcon really comes down to data rates, because it has a high data rate capability, it allows for lots of different applications; so it's not just for one application. We're showing how you can get high quality audio streaming from an audio device, but also you can do something as simple as wireless programming, which has always been a hot button in the hearing aid industry. You can also do binaural synchronization between hearing aids, which is also a popular feature now.
You can even indulge in accomplishing binaural processing between two hearing aids, and get a better spatial effect through hearing aids. Today we talk about a binaural fitting, but it's really a bilateral fitting, and with some binaural algorithms you can make this truly a binaural fitting. You need some type of ultra-low-power wireless processing, which is exactly what Falcon is all about. It's going to enable all these different applications which people have had ideas about, but haven't been able to put into effect because the technology has not been there. There are plenty of opportunities available.
Dybala: Just as the brain processes binaurally across ears, we're talking about having processors that can do that now.
Fink: Exactly.
Dybala: Well, Dr. Fink, looks like we are running out of our allotted time. I want to thank you for sharing all this new information with us! It's really great to see where technology is going. We hope you'll come back in the future and give us an update on where Gennum will be going with even newer technology.
Fink: Sure, sure, thank you. There's always something to talk about!
Dybala: As always, I will direct our readers to the Gennum website for more information at www.gennum.com. Our readers can also find information on the Audiology Online Web Channel for Gennum at www.audiologyonline.com/channels/gennum.asp
Fink: Thanks, Paul. Well, before I was priviliged to work at Gennum, I was the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Freescale Semiconductor's (www.freescale.com) Wireless and Mobile Systems Group, and before that, I worked for Motorola (www.motorola.com) as the Vice-President and General Manager of the 32-bit Embedded Microprocessor Division. I guess I spent about 15 years between both those companies, in both the United States and Europe. Then before that from 1999 to 2001, I served as Operations Director of the Powertrain Systems Operation within the Advanced Vehicle Systems Division. Dybala: That's quite a history! Where did you get your training before you started all of that?
Fink: Well, I earned my Master's degree in Computer Science and Electronics from the Technical University of Munich, and then attended again later to graduate with my Doctorate from the Department of Computer-Aided Design.
Dybala: Very impressive. Many persons in the field may know that Gennum supplies the chips that are used in about 50% of the hearing aids sold today. They may not know as much about Gennum's work in the wireless market. I wanted to read this excerpt straight from your website. It says, "Gennum Corporation, established in 1973, designs, manufactures and markets industry-leading semiconductors and semiconductor-based products for leading segments of the global video, audio and data communications markets." Then it says, "In our Audio & Wireless business, our knowledge of high fidelity acoustics, low power usage and miniaturized packaging is converging with new capabilities in ultra-low power short range wireless technology, resulting in new products for the hearing market and for wireless audio devices."
That seems like a pretty big job, so I wanted to talk a little today about Gennum as a company and what they are doing for the wireless market and how this could relate to hearing aids. Let's start with how the trend in wireless technology fits in to your business today.
Fink: Ok, well a good place to start with wireless technology might be cell phones. Everyone knows about cell phones, but I really like to refer to them as a convergence device. A cell phone becomes an MP3 player, and now an MP3 player becomes a cell phone, so obviously wireless technology that extends beyond cellular technology is key in today's market. This even goes beyond cell phones, headsets today that connect to MP3 players obviously use a cable, Well, we are seeing a trend of that all going wireless, right?
Dybala: Yes, absolutely.
Fink: When we think about cell phones, much like in hearing aids, we want them to be smaller. Size matters in miniaturization, right?
Dybala: [laughter] I would hope so, yes.
Fink: If you move beyond cell phones and think about things like wireless LANs, Bluetooth and set top media boxes, these devices are becoming smaller and sleeker. What makes this miniaturization possible?
Dybala: The ability for these devices to function using low-power circuitry.
Fink: Correct. What I am emphasizing is, for many wireless consumer electronic products, low power, low cost, and smaller size matters. Here is where the synergy with Gennum comes in; for years we have been developing low-power hearing aid technology, additionally, hearing aids are looking to go wireless as well.
Dybala: Can you connect where the low power technology in hearing aids ties out to devices like MP3 players and mobile phones?
Fink: Let's take headsets for example. If you want the smallest size headset plus wireless audio capability along with noise cancellation, this is the type of technology that Gennum has essentially already developed for hearing aids. We are one of the world leaders in this area and I see a lot of growth opportunities for us. Restated, Gennum technology on the hearing aid side will probably make it back to everyday consumer products.
In fact, let me go a step further. Originally, all phones were black at some point in the beginning. Now they are green, they are blue, lilac. Today, hearing aids are looked at as medical devices. At some point they will become consumer devices, as well. Why? The future is all about this new trend of new consumer devices which you must have in your ear because you are simultaneously listening to that stunning audio, video, you name it. It's going to be so much better than the conventional headset. I am guessing we might be 10 years away from that, but it's consumerization and convergence that is driving this kind of trend. Everyone will be wearing these "hearing aids", but these devices are aiding more than just persons with hearing loss. They are helping "aid" persons with normal hearing communicate and enhance their auditory experiences.
Dybala: I completely agree. Moving from the future to the present, let's talk about Gennum's new wireless technology, called Falcon. I know there's a lot of talk right now on Bluetooth, and how Bluetooth is being used as a wireless protocol. How is Falcon different from Bluetooth?
Fink: One of the biggest differences is in power consumption. Bluetooth is not really a low-power technology at this point. At best, we are looking at a few hours of battery life.
Dybala: Bluetooth currently has about 70 times greater current consumption than Falcon, correct?
Fink: Exactly. The other major difference is the audio quality. The audio fidelity you get out of Bluetooth is nothing like the Falcon. The Falcon has an absolute full bandwidth, about a 16kHz bandwidth high data rate, so you get awesome sound quality that you don't get out of Bluetooth. Therefore, bottom line for audio products such as hearing aids, you want to have Falcon as it provides a higher fidelity.
Dybala: That said, Bluetooth as a wireless technology is pretty ubiquitous. How are you addressing this with Falcon?
Fink: One of the future things that we have on our road map: integrating Bluetooth in with our Falcon devices. From a standardization view, you need to have backwards compatibility, right? There's going to be 250 million Bluetooth headsets out there, and you can't just swap all those out and replace them with newer technology like the Falcon overnight. There will have to be some kind of phasing-in and out period when this is finally released.
Dybala: Right. How is Falcon going to be integrated into the hearing aid side of things?
Fink: Well, to start, it's ultra-low power. It goes beyond what Bluetooth can currently do. You won't have to replace or charge batteries after just a few hours anymore. Call it next generation Bluetooth. Call it whatever. What it is is excellent technology with convenience.
Dybala: Is Falcon in any currently available hearing aids on the market?
Fink: Yes! One of the first product demonstrations is coming from a German hearing aid manufacturer called Audifon. They're launching a BTE with Falcon integrated in it.
Dybala: Wow! So this is the very first hearing aid which has Falcon integrated in it?
Fink: Yes it is.
Dybala: We have mentioned hearing aids communicating with mobile phones, what are some other possible hearing aid applications for Falcon?
Fink: Falcon really comes down to data rates, because it has a high data rate capability, it allows for lots of different applications; so it's not just for one application. We're showing how you can get high quality audio streaming from an audio device, but also you can do something as simple as wireless programming, which has always been a hot button in the hearing aid industry. You can also do binaural synchronization between hearing aids, which is also a popular feature now.
You can even indulge in accomplishing binaural processing between two hearing aids, and get a better spatial effect through hearing aids. Today we talk about a binaural fitting, but it's really a bilateral fitting, and with some binaural algorithms you can make this truly a binaural fitting. You need some type of ultra-low-power wireless processing, which is exactly what Falcon is all about. It's going to enable all these different applications which people have had ideas about, but haven't been able to put into effect because the technology has not been there. There are plenty of opportunities available.
Dybala: Just as the brain processes binaurally across ears, we're talking about having processors that can do that now.
Fink: Exactly.
Dybala: Well, Dr. Fink, looks like we are running out of our allotted time. I want to thank you for sharing all this new information with us! It's really great to see where technology is going. We hope you'll come back in the future and give us an update on where Gennum will be going with even newer technology.
Fink: Sure, sure, thank you. There's always something to talk about!
Dybala: As always, I will direct our readers to the Gennum website for more information at www.gennum.com. Our readers can also find information on the Audiology Online Web Channel for Gennum at www.audiologyonline.com/channels/gennum.asp
