BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

Apparatuses, methods, devices, and articles of manufacture consistent with the present disclosure relate generally to semiconductor integrated circuits, and more particularly to an application processor for low power operation, an electronic device including the application processor and an associated method.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Recently, voice-based or sound-based intelligent interfaces have been introduced. One advantage of such voice-based intelligent interfaces is that users can interact with a device in a hands-free manner without handling or even looking at the device. Hands-free operation can be particularly beneficial when a person cannot or should not physically handle a device, such as when they are driving or when they have a physical disability, etc. However, to initiate the voice-based intelligent interface, users typically must press a button or select an icon on a touch screen. This tactile input detracts from the user experience of the voice-based intelligent interface.

Accordingly, the electronic devices have been developed to activate a voice-based intelligent interface using inputs of voice, speech, sound, sensing, etc., rather than a tactile input. The electronic device performs continuous or intermittent monitoring of an audio channel to detect the voice input and issue a trigger event for initiating the voice-based intelligent interface. The operation for issuing the trigger event may be referred to as a voice trigger operation. This monitoring of the audio channel consumes electrical power, which is a limited resource on handheld or portable devices that rely on batteries. Thus, it is advantageous to provide an energy-efficient solution associated with the voice trigger operation.

SUMMARY

It is an aspect to provide an application processor and an electronic device including an application processor capable of performing a voice trigger operation with low power.

It is another aspect to provide a method of operating an application processor capable of performing a voice trigger operation with low power.

According to an aspect of one or more example embodiments, an application processor includes a system bus; a host processor electrically connected to the system bus; a voice trigger system electrically connected to the system bus, the voice trigger system being configured to perform a voice trigger operation and issue a trigger event based on a trigger input signal that is provided through a trigger interface; and an audio subsystem comprising an audio interface and electrically connected to the system bus, the audio subsystem being configured to process audio streams through the audio interface.

According to another aspect of one or more example embodiments, an electronic device includes at least one audio input-output device; and an application processor comprising a system bus; a host processor electrically connected to the system bus; a voice trigger system electrically connected to the system bus, the voice trigger system being configured to perform a voice trigger operation and issue a trigger event based on a trigger input signal that is provided through a trigger interface; and an audio subsystem comprising an audio interface and electrically connected to the system bus, the audio subsystem being configured to process audio streams through the audio interface.

According to another aspect of one or more example embodiments, a method includes performing, by a voice trigger system, a voice trigger operation based on a trigger input signal provided through a trigger interface to issue a trigger event, the voice trigger system being integrated, in a single semiconductor chip forming an application processor, with a host processor, an audio subsystem and a system bus electrically connecting the host processor, the voice trigger system and the audio subsystem; and processing, by the audio subsystem, audio streams through an audio interface of the audio subsystem.

