In this video interview, recorded at Wireless Japan (May 29-31, 2024), Managing Director of HEAD acoustics Japan K.K., Takeshi Imamura, explains why we at HEAD acoustics make our heads move and why this is crucial for communication speech quality testing.
“This is a binaural artificial head used for communication speech quality testing. Unlike conventional artificial heads this head rotates continually and silently while testing.
Why does this head need to move?
Because in an actual (hands-free) call, the speaker and listener do not always keep looking straight when they talk but move their necks while talking. The rotating head, therefore, reflects the actual usage and the speech quality tests will be more realistic and correct.
The users’ actual use conditions need to be considered in order to perform tests in a correct manner. For example, in-car communication system is a trend. It is more comfortable for passengers to talk with each other via microphones and speakers of the car audio system instead of having to raise their voices to be better heard.
In the international standard for testing in-car communication’s speech quality, the rotation of the neck will likely be taken into account.
Our new artificial head move°S was just introduced into the market - but is expected to
play an active role in the testing of so-called ”head tracking”.
What is ”head tracking”?
Spatial sound music services via headphones featuring head tracking are the recent trend. When you listen to a music performance, the sound field of the performer’s stage must stay in its original position without following the listener, even if they rotate their neck.
Also, when the new multi-channel codec, IVAS, becomes available, someone can call me to let me experience a spatial, live scene from a trip, a scene of a waterfall, as an example. Even if I turn my head while wearing a headset, the waterfall must stay in its original position. It shouldn’t follow the movement of my neck. The feature enabling this is called “head tracking”.
This rotating artificial head is expected to play a role in testing its performance!”
About HEAD acoustics
HEAD acoustics GmbH is one of the world's leading companies offering holistic solutions for sound and vibration analysis. In the telecom sector, the company enjoys global recognition due to the expertise and pioneering role in the development of hardware and software for the measurement, analysis and optimization of voice and audio quality as well as customer-specific solutions and services. HEAD acoustics' range of services covers sound engineering for technical products, investigation of environmental noise, speech quality engineering as well as consulting, training and support. The company from Herzogenrath near Aachen has subsidiaries in China, France, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the USA as well as numerous sales partners worldwide.
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