Measuring In-Car Communication Quality with HEAD acoustics Automated Test Suite Following ITU-T P.1150 Recommendations

To ensure a base level of functionality and quality of in-car communication (ICC) systems, the ITU-T International Standardization Sector has defined appropriate tests in Recommendation P.1150. German audio test and measurement solutions company HEAD acoustics has now implemented this recommendation in its ACQUA software with automated test sequences that can be applied for communication quality analysis, thus enabling comprehensive acoustic measurements of ICC systems and components.
 
In-car communication (ICC) systems help to improve communication in the vehicle between the occupants. HEAD acoustics now implemented the ITU-T P.1150 guidelines in its communication quality analysis software ACQUA, allowing measurements that cover all relevant acoustic parameters in accordance with the international recommendation. The measurements implemented in the test suite are performed in combination with additional HEAD acoustics measurement equipment.

Manufacturers of systems or individual components can test and optimize the listening effort effects, acoustic stability and the signal-to-noise ratio of their devices in accordance with the standard. In addition, the solution supports measurements of double talk attenuation and the delay between the original voice and the voice transmitted by the ICC system. 

The P.1150 test suite supports vehicles with A2B technology. In conjunction with the A2B interface available for HEAD acoustics labCORE hardware platform, users can easily record background noise via A2B and insert it digitally via the bus to test the ICC system. The ACQUA software test suite also employs a technique called “Time Domain Signal Subtraction”. This method allows compensating background noise and/or unwanted speech signals in the time domain and is used to extract only the audio signals that are transmitted by the ICC system itself, in order to analyze the recorded speech without the interior noise of the vehicle, as a possible example.
  "With our automated and standards-compliant solution, manufacturers can not only optimize positioning of hands-free microphones and loudspeakers, but also tune the interaction between hardware and software components," reports Christian Schüring, Sales Manager Telecom at HEAD acoustics GmbH. "This enables optimization of communication quality of the entire ICC system as well as individual components."
www.head-acoustics.com