A low-power, voice-controlled, H.263 video decoder for portable applications

In this paper, a low-power, low-voltage, voice-controlled H.263 video decoding system is presented. Its power consumption makes it suitable for portable systems with limited battery resources. Video decoding of quarter-common intermediate format (QCIF) images at 25 frames per second is achieved at 1-MHz clock frequency and requires about 60 /spl mu/W at 1-V power supply, Sub-QCIF and CIF image formats are also supported. The decoder circuit is controlled by the on-chip isolated word speech recognizer. It is used to implement command-oriented and menu-based applications. The resulting system is expandable taking additional external devices under voice control. The chip integrates 650-k transistors in a 36-mm/sup 2/ area and has been implemented using a standard CMOS 0.35-/spl mu/m, five-metal technology process. The system works correctly down to 0.9 V, allowing single-cell button battery operation.