Audio Engineering Society Introduces Audio Product Education Institute and Interactive Voice Con Online Event

The Audio Product Education Institute (APEI), an initiative of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) that is committed to furthering the knowledge and skills of professionals involved in the development of audio products, will present Interactive Voice Con, an online program designed to address real-world experiences in Voice Integrated Product Development. This first APEI event will take place online July 9, 4:00pm to 6:00pm, Eastern Daylight Time. Registration for this free event is at https://tinyurl.com/AES-APEI.

APEI was created by the Audio Engineering Society to expand the reach of the Product Development Track of the AES Conventions. The PD Track began in 2014 in Los Angeles at the 137th AES Convention and has continued to grow to become one of the most attended tracks during AES conventions. Scott Leslie, AES convention poduct development track chair, is also leading APEI's initiatives.

"In the past we have focused on what makes great products, and it has been highly energized by our audiences," says Leslie. "We want to expand the concept to the practices and technologies that companies need to pre-engineer products to speed time to market, increase market success and lower development risk."

AES's APEI Committee is composed of long-term professionals in the audio product development area who saw the dramatic increase in voice interactive audio products market, beginning with the Bluetooth speaker and evolving progressively towards the Smart Speaker, create a huge demand for development professionals with multidisciplinary and highly specialized skills. APEI also identified that universities are teaching strong fundamentals but little audio-specific or hands-on development skills needed to advance these new team members at the rate they need to contribute at a high level. Many seasoned professionals from other product areas are also entering the audio world and need specific audio training and to learn best practices.

"Audio has entered as a major component into many new product areas including Security, Health Care, and Traffic Control," Leslie remarks. "It became clear that the demand for skilled product professionals is greatly exceeding the available education needed to support them."

AES's APEI roadmap intends to focus on six educational pillars:

- Interactive Voice Con - The development of voice-enabled products including smart speakers, automotive infotainment systems, smartphones, retail kiosks, and others.

- Supply Chain and Sourcing - The methods, practices, economics and politics of the hardware, software and development services that go into every audio product produced.

- Modeling and Measurement - Modeling methods and software, measurement practices and equipment are an essential element in getting products to market quickly and ensuring sustainable customer experience and regulatory conformance. APEI is working to connect with leaders in these areas, including outside the audio industry, to bring knowledge of how to implement these disciplines within an organization and transform product development to the needed state both present and future.

- Product Management - Arguably the most important function in the product world today, yet rarely practiced at the level needed for achieving a high level of market success. APEI plans to bring the world's experts in product management to the world of audio.

- The Legal World - Copyrights, patents, trademarks, intellectual property, contracts, and anything else that deals with the legal opportunities and challenges of developing, producing, and selling a product today.

- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - The future of how products will function. The amount of research and implementation of this science is remarkable in many areas. Audio products will benefit from these technologies and best practices greatly. Everyone involved in the product development life cycle should have some range of knowledge in this area to help shape the future of their products.

Given the COVID-19 situation, APEI's initial event is being scheduled online.

The AES APEI's first event, Interactive Voice Con, will address real-world experiences in Voice Integrated Product Development

When: July 9, 4:00pm - 6:00pm Eastern Daylight Time
Format: Online streaming from Santa Clara, CA.
Two 45-minute sessions, plus Q&A after each session.
Target Audience: Audio product professionals seeking to increase their skills and understanding of what it takes to develop a successful Smart Speaker. Acoustics, electronics, DSP and software engineers and leaders, marketing managers and all those integral in the supply chain.
Overview: In this inaugural session, our two presenters will discuss a series of real-world challenges they have faced in developing sophisticated interactive smart speaker products. Topics addressed will cover the disciplines in voice-integrated products, from Acoustics to Microphones, Electronics, DSP and Output Transducers.
Cost: Free.
Registration: Visit https://tinyurl.com/AES-APEI.

Attendees will gain a keen understanding of how all these areas must work together in order for a product to succeed in attaining the goals set by the product manager. Attendees will learn how companies in the past were not equipped to make the best decisions or to integrate these disciplines to succeed with their end product.

APEI Presenters:
Paul Beckman, CTO, DSP Concepts, Santa Clara, California
Link to Bio: https://dspconcepts.com/about/leadership-team

Mike Klasco, APEI Committee Member and CEO of Menlo Scientific, Richmond, California
Link to Bio: https://www.menloscientific.com/team

Platinum Sponsor - DSP Concepts