Practical Test & Measurement: Testing Smart Devices

Voice applications are currently fostering the largest growth in the audio industry. This article addresses the challenges and solutions for testing the wider class of “smart” – connected, voice-activated, and sensor-equipped – devices, proposing solutions to implement basic acoustic tests and real-world tests of greater complexity. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2019.

Brüel & Kjær Sound & Vibration Measurement is promoting a set of recommendations for smart speaker testing, putting focus on the importance of realistic testing when developing and incorporating voice recognition functionalities into consumer products. The Danish sound and vibration specialist recommends the use of its high-frequency HATS Type 5218 and Mouth Simulator Type 4227 systems with human voice characteristics for realistic speech and sound testing of voice-operated devices.

Smart speakers are a relatively new class of consumer audio device with unique characteristics that make testing their audio performance difficult. In this new application note, Audio Precision provides an overview of smart speaker acoustic measurements with a focus on frequency response – the most important objective measurement of a device’s audio quality.

Sensory Inc., a Silicon Valley company that pioneered speech recognition and AI in consumer electronics, announced the acquisition of Vocalize.ai, a software tools and services company that performs benchmarking, accuracy assessments and bias evaluations for speech technologies and natural language interfaces. As part of the acquisition, Sensory will maintain Vocalize.ai as an independently operated division.