What you need to know about Auracast broadcast audio from Bluetooth

Hello.

Welcome to Hearing Health

Matters 2023 and this

presentation on what you
need to

know about Auracast
Broadcast

audio from Bluetooth
Technology.

My name is Chuck Sabin.

I’m the Senior Director for

Market Development at the

Bluetooth Special Interest

Group. And many of you,

through a variety of resources

and presentations,

may have been introduced to

Auracast Broadcast Audio and
may

have seen some of the
materials

I’m about to present.

But it’s always a good idea

to see them again,

especially for a new Bluetooth

capability like Auracast

Broadcast Audio. Now,

we anticipate Auracast to be
the

next generation of assistive

listening technology and
more.

And many products and

manufacturers have
committed to

supporting Auracast as part

of their future technology

portfolio for Bluetooth audio

connectivity, in hearing aids,

everyday consumer audio
devices,

and public spaces. Today,

I want to walk you through a
bit

more detail about Auracast
and

what you may need to know

about how it works,

how it will be used,

and how to identify devices
and

locations with Auracast
Broadcast

Audio in the future.

As far as learning objectives,

I want you to come away with
a

clear understanding about

three things.

First,

I want to give you a clear

understanding of the new

features of LE Audio and how

they enable the use cases for

Auracast Broadcast Audio.
Second,

I want you to have a clear

understanding of the impact
that

LE Audio and Auracast will
have

on Bluetooth hearing aids and

how Auracast is enabling

audio accessibility.

And third,

I want you to come away with
an

appreciation for the
importance

of the user expectations for a

consistent infrastructure and

support for Auracast

in public spaces.

First,

let’s just start off with a

reminder of who we are as
the

Bluetooth Special Interest

Group. Now,

Bluetooth is a globally

recognized standards body

and trade association.

We are the organization at
the

heart of Bluetooth
technology,

supporting industry leading

companies around the globe
in

specification development,

device qualification testing,

and promoting Bluetooth

technology.

We’re based in Kirkland,

Washington,

just outside Seattle in the US.

And the Bluetooth SIG
operates

as a notforprofit trade

association with over 40,000

member companies working
to

advance Bluetooth
technology

in a variety of markets and

solutions. And each year,

Bluetooth member
companies ship

over 5 billion Bluetooth
enabled

products worldwide.

Now,

to the heart of the discussion

for today.

Bluetooth has been leading

innovation in wireless audio

for over 20 years. However.

It has been recognized that

developers have to a degree,

stretched the classic
Bluetooth

audio to its limits. Now,

this is Enter LE Audio,

the new framework and the
new

flexible architecture from

Bluetooth to support the next
20

years of audio innovation

in the market.

And just to be clear,

you’ll see both architectures

for quite some time.

This is not an instance where

you need to throw out your

current devices because they

were suddenly not going to
work

with the new phones, tablets,

PCs and TVs that you might

get in the future.

Classic Audio and LE Audio
will

coexist in the market

for many years,

working with both existing
and

new devices. Now that said,

new wireless audio innovation

will come with LE Audio.

LE Audio will first bring a

number of initial
enhancements

to help relieve some of the

challenges seen in

the market today.

And there are three initial

benefits that you will see

and hear with LE Audio

The first is better performing

products, higher quality,

better performance, lower
power.

And the second is greater

availability of Bluetooth

hearing aids with new

standardization,

increased performance,

and global interoperability

between those devices

and mobile devices,

and broadcast audio.

And the third broadcast
audio.

And the introduction of
Auracast

broadcast audio for public

spaces will be a part of the
new

capabilities with LE Audio.

So let’s take a look at these

benefits in a little

bit more detail.

The new LE Audio
specification

and architecture from
Bluetooth

is really set to enable,

as I mentioned before,

the next 20 years of wireless

audio innovation.

This includes a new modern

codec for all devices,

which helps produce higher

quality audio at lower

power requirements,

enabling devices to have
longer

battery life in one charge.

Second,

a new flexible architecture or

device developers to support

multistream for binaural
hearing

aids, seamless voice control,

and broadcast capabilities.

And third,

there’s new standardization
and

profiles specifically for

hearing aids and public

broadcast.

Now,

regarding standardization and

global availability of
Bluetooth

hearing aids,

it is actually the hearing aid

ecosystem that first
approached

the Bluetooth Special Interest

Group to standardize
Bluetooth

Audio for hearing aids. Now,

the biggest challenges that
were

in the market was that there
was

no specific adopted Bluetooth

specification for hearing aids,

and different hearing aid

suppliers had to develop

proprietary extensions

to the technology.

Now,

this did cause compatibility

problems. In the market,

which many of you may have
or

probably have experienced.

And then you had Apple with
MFI,

the Made for iPhone program,

and you had Google’s ASHA,

which is the audio streaming
for

hearing aids program which
tried

to resolve platform specific

issues but really made it

difficult for true multiplatform

handset interoperability for

hearing aid devices.

And this all drove challenges

into the market,

including interoperability

between hearing aids and
new

mobile devices that people
were

purchasing for their lives.

Now,

this ultimately limited

selection in many of the cases

and drove higher costs to

the end consumer. Now,

the LE Audio specification

is meant to change this

standardization through LE
Audio

and the Hearing Access
Profile

will bring better performance

to your hearing aids.

And standardization will drive

true global interoperability.

And standardization should

deliver more selection choice

and increase the overall

accessibility for people

with hearing loss.

Now,

with regards to accessibility,

now Auracast Broadcast
Audio is a

new capability for Bluetooth

wireless technology that will

deliver new audio experiences
to

help your world sound better.

Now,

when you look at Auracast
and the

Auracast story for the market,

there are three key
experiences

that we’re enabling for

the near future.

The first is share your audio.

Now,

this is me sharing my audio
with

you or the people that are

around me, in this case,

the smartphones, tablets,

laptops will allow you to share

your audio experience

with others,

to listen to music and watch

videos together. Now,

this could also include other

applications like tour systems

and other group listening

experiences where you’re
trying

to share your audio with the

people that are around you.

The second experience is
around.

Unmute your world. Now,

this is providing the

opportunity for an audio

experience with the silent TVs

that you see in bars, gyms,

waiting rooms and airports,

because silent TVs and
monitors,

they’re everywhere.

Simply stated,

Auracast allows you to join
the

audio broadcast of a program

or on a monitor rather than

watching or reading closed

caption in silence to create

a more complete watching

experience. Now,

this can also include

multilanguage support or

listening to audio sources that

provide multiple audio
sources

that provide a simulcast of an

alternate language on that

monitor, on that TV as well.

The third experience is

around hear your best.

And this is supporting audio

accessibility and better

hearing health,

especially for those with

hearing loss or when you just

want to hear better what is

going on around you, like PA,

announcements, lectures,

conversations and so on.

Because overcoming loud
ambient

noise can be a challenge in

public spaces for everyone.

And this is especially true for

people with hearing loss.

Auracast enables direct audio

listening to the public address

systems and other
transmitters

to help you hear your best
using

your listening and

hearing devices.

And this includes augmented

audio experiences at theaters

and assistive listening in

public spaces and locations

like places of worship,

transit centers, airports,

conference centers and other

public gathering places.

Now,

I want to emphasize that

Auracast is an assistive

listening technology,

but it applies to more than
just

enhanced audio and assistive

listening.

It can apply to all manner of

use cases and increase audio

accessibility for everyone

Auracast will increase the
value

of audio to more people

at a location. Now,

because Auracast is designed
to

be implemented on all
manner

of listening devices,

there’s a broad demographic
of

users who can use Auracast.

And because it supports
multiple

channels and multiple

broadcasts,

venues can improve their user

experience with multiple
audio

options at a location
supported

from one technology.

Now, additionally,

one of the challenges of
setting

up a location for audio

assistance is the impact on
the

venue causing somewhat of a

resistance to implementation,

especially for retrofit to

an existing building.

Now,

this can ultimately limit

installation to a single use

case or they find accessibility

support from less accessible,

lower quality alternatives.

But deploying an RF system
like

Auracast with Bluetooth can
be

simple and easy to deploy and

reconfigure to any changes

in the environment.

It’s really similar to deploying

a WiFi network. Essentially,

you affix a transmitter to

the ceiling or the wall,

you plug it into the audio

system and you’re ready to
go.

Auracast supports unlimited

endpoints without the need
to

sit in a specific area to

receive the audio experience

that you want.

Auracast can easily cover a
large

area of inrange devices in a

location inside or outside for

indoor or outdoor locations.

And because it is Bluetooth,

a technology familiar to many

people training and education

may be more easy or maybe

easier to more people.

Now,

let’s talk a little bit more

detail about how forecast

broadcast audio actual.

Works.

And some of the questions

that I hear.

This may be a little bit more

detail in terms of this
diagram,

but I want to show you this

because there are two
questions

that I hear the most during

presentations.

The first is,

does Auracast use the
standard

Bluetooth pairing methods I
use

today for audio? And two,

is the smartphone required to

listen to an oracast broadcast

audio audio stream from

a transmitter?

To answer the first question,

the simple answer is no.

This is not a classic Bluetooth

pairing between two devices.

Broadcast is meant to be

accessible by everyone,

not just you. For broadcast,

a transmitter advertises the

availability of a standard

quality Auracast broadcast

audio stream.

And any Auracast receiver or

assistant can listen for that

broadcast and join based on

the request of the user.

Now,

some broadcasts may be
encrypted

and may require additional

input by the user,

depending on the
implementation.

But at the heart of an

Auricast broadcast,

the transmitter or source has
no

idea what or how many
devices

are listening to the oracast

broadcast audio stream

at any given time.

And this allows one
transmitter

to broadcast effectively to an

unlimited number of people
that

are within range of

that transmitter.

The transmitter broadcasts
audio

everywhere for people to
listen,

and people listen depending

on their desire.

Now, on the second question,

is the smartphone required to

listen to an Auracast

audio stream?

Again,

the simple answer to this

question is no. Once joined,

the receiver,

whether or not it’s the

headphones or earbuds or
hearing

aids or your cochlear
implants,

it listens.

Those listen to a direct audio

stream from the transmitter.

The smartphone is not
involved

in that case. Now, that said,

there are effectively two
common

models for finding and joining

an Auracast audio stream,

and these are with an
assistant

and without an assistant.
Now,

in both cases,

it starts with the transmitter

advertising the availability of

a standard quality or a cast

broadcast audio stream.

And when you have an
assistant

like a smartphone or a key

fob or some other model,

the assistant scans for

available broadcasts and

provides the interface for the

user to choose which
broadcast

to join. Now,

once the broadcast is selected

by the user,

the assistant directs the

receiver on where to go,

and the receiver joins the

broadcast directly.

And we anticipate that this
will

be the most common method
for

users to join, find and join.

Broadcast very similar to

discovering an available

WiFi access point.

The second model is without

an assistant. Now,

the process is very similar

in this case

where you have the

receiver itself,

scans for available broadcasts

and provides the mechanism
on

the device, the button,

the Swipe,

the switch to join the

broadcast. Again,

no smartphone or assistant is

required at that point in time.

Kind of like how you may turn
on

a telecoil today. However,

when we think about using

devices for devices that are

size and resource constrained,

or when multiple streams

are available,

this may not be the most

practical method for the user.

And this is why we say with
an

assistant may be the most
common

method to find and

join a broadcast.

But the choice to support an

assistant or not is up to the

manufacturer of the

receiving device.

Now,

there are additional methods
for

discovery that are

under discussion.

Things like using proximity

am I near a transmitter?

And I connect to it using

QR codes or NFC.

And that may also be used by

developers in the future.

But these are still under

development and will come
out

as the maturity of Auracast

continues.

Now,

I’ve said it a couple of times

that audio accessibility

should be for everyone.

So why is this important?

Why the emphasis on an
Auracast

standard for public spaces?

Why the emphasis on
standard

quality public broadcast
audio?

And that’s because hearing

health for everyone matters,

right?

Standard quality audio stream

is the universal and common

denominator for accessibility
of

Auracast for all transmitting

and receiving devices,

regardless if it’s TWS,

earbuds headsets,
headphones,

hearing aids, cochlear,

ear implants, and so on.

And it is also required for all

Auracast locations to support

the broadcast of a standard

quality audio stream. Now,

I tell you this because

advocating for transmitters
for

oracast transmitters at

locations that support the

Auracast requirements
ensures

that a broadcast support and

audio accessibility is available

for all users at all locations,

for all devices.

And that’s effectively what

we’re trying to get to

effectively in this case.

Global audio accessibility

hinges on devices and
location

following the Auracast

requirements.

And your advocacy and your

emphasis is important.

Driving global audio

accessibility.

Now,

how do you know a device or
a

location supports Auracast?

Or says it supports Auracast.

There are two paths to
identify

support for oracast

broadcast audio.

First is on the device,

and the second is at the

location. First,

let’s start with the device s

mid 2022,

we introduced the Auracast

brand and trademarks,

including the word mark,

combination mark, figure
mark,

and functionality icon for

device manufacturers. Now,

similar to the Core Bluetooth

trademarks,

any device is eligible to use

the Auracast trademarks as
long

as qualified and proven to

follow the Auracast brand

requirements.

The Auracast word mark and

associated trademarks can

coexist with the Core
Bluetooth

trademarks as depicted in the

product pictures on this slide.

These are just pictures and

should not be construed as

actual product support just
yet.

So just take it as an example
of

what you will see in the
market.

But for bovolt’s device

manufacturers and locations,

we are encouraging them to
use

the Auracast trademarks to
convey

support for oracast to
consumers

looking for devices.

Next,

let’s look at public locations.

For locations,

we’ve introduced a new
stylized

identity for use in

public spaces,

and we felt that the Oracast

trademark needed to stand
out

further for simple consumer

recognition and easy spotting
of

support in public spaces. Now,

different from the Auracast

combination mark I just

showed you before,

the new stylized identity is

designed to depict support
for

assistive listening and
support

for new enhanced or
augmented

audio experiences in that

location where you may go.

And we’re encouraging
prominent

display of this identity to

quickly convey to consumers
they

have access to these new
audio

capabilities at this location.

And we’re also working with

accessibility service providers

to ensure that they have
ample

opportunity to support,

installers and installations

with Oracast branding
materials

and oracast location

registrations.

Now, I’m often asked,

and you may be asking this

yourselves, and I’m often
asked,

well, what about telecoil?

What about loop systems that
are

already in these locations?

And we recognize that
telecoils

are available in many

hearing aids today.

And we also recognize,

through tremendous
advocacy by

a number of organizations,

that hearing loop is deployed
in

many locations today as well.

But Auracast and hearing

loop can.

And will coexist in the same

location for many years to
come.

Now,

it’s important to
accommodate

existing and new
technologies.

We get that.

So together they actually
match

the needs of the devices

that the users have,

whether or not you’re looking
at

current technology or you’re

looking at new technology.

So in this case,

we recommend locations
would use

both the Auracast and
hearing

loop signage to signal the

availability of both systems at

the location. And then users,

depending on their

hearing device,

the capabilities that they

have or their preference,

can choose which capability
best

fits their need for that

particular location.

Now that said, again,

as you can imagine,

developing and delivering a
new

consumer audio capability
like

Auracast for both consumer

applications as well as for

assistive listening technology

is a monumental effort.

And I want to reinforce with
you

that this is a global and

ecosystem wide effort to
deliver

Auracast into the market.

The Bluetooth Special Interest

group is not acting alone.

The Bluetooth Special Interest

Group has brought together
key

product and hearing access

stakeholders in the consumer
and

professional audio ecosystem.

The objective has been to
align

the audio industry and
ecosystem

of suppliers,

manufacturers and
associations

on the scope of experiences

covered by Auracast,

the global brand and identity

of those experiences,

and the product and location

requirements that I’ve talked

about earlier. Now,

this graphic only shows some

of the many companies and

organizations who have
supported

and participated in this

development effort and many
more

have already pledged their

support for Auricast in
devices

they will and services that
they

will offer in the future.

Now,

as much as I would like to
snap

my fingers and have global

support for Auracast
everywhere

in all public locations,

this is not going to happen

overnight, right?

And time in this case is not

weighed in just months.

It will take sometimes years

even to really get the market

fully integrated.

But I am encouraged by what
I

see happening in the market.

Analyst estimates the uptake
and

opportunity for LE Audio and
the

use cases for Auracast
broadcast

audio is quite significant.

In a recent published market

research note in partnership

with Abi Research,

Abi estimates that estimates

that there will be over 3

billion Le Audio enabled
devices

shipping each year within

the next five years.

And Abi also estimates that

there are over 61 million

establishments, locations,

venues globally that could

benefit from and take
advantage

of Auracast broadcast audio.

Today.

And while it’s still early

to track trends,

abi estimates roughly 2.5

million Auracast broadcast
audio

deployments and locations
will

be available in the next five

to seven years. So, again,

as I said,

it will take years to get the

full deployment of Auracast,

so for many details.

For more details on these and

other estimates, you know,

please download and review
the

recent LE audio Market

Research Note.

It’s titled Eliodio the Future

of Bluetooth Audio

on Bluetooth.com.

And if you’re still curious and

want more information on

Auracast or wish to stay up to

date on new information,

I encourage you to visit

Bluetooth.com auricast. Now,

I’ve shown a number of
resources

throughout this presentation,

and everyone has access to
the

content I have presented,

and I encourage you to visit

Bluetooth.com/Auracast for

additional links and
information

I did not cover here today.

So I want to thank you for
your

attention and taking your

time with me today.

And if you have any
questions,

please do not hesitate

to reach out.

I’m an advocate for audio

accessibility,

and I’m committed to doing
what

it takes to help make this

happen for everyone.

I want to thank you

for your time,

and I hope you’ve enjoyed

this presentation,

and I look forward to the day

when auracast and audio

accessibility is everywhere for

everyone. Thank you very
much.

Appreciate your time. Bye.