Practical Test & Measurement: The Benefits of Using Structure-Borne Sound in Headset Signal Processing

This article looks at the practical test and measurement of bone conduction technology, as used in product development for headsets and in-ear devices. It showcases new possibilities for manufacturers to better evaluate device performance, since no appropriate test equipment and methods were commercially available until now. The approach, complements a Head-and-Torso Simulator (HATS) with an actuator capable of generating structure-borne sound in the artificial ear. This way, a realistic simulation of the human structure-borne voice signal for in-ear headsets is possible.. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2023.

Exploring some pressing topics in headphone technology, in this article Hans W. Gierlich addresses the requirements for effective performance testing of communication headsets that use active noise cancellation (ANC) technologies, test setups, testing equipment, and setup conditions needed to correctly assess ANC performance. From the right choice of artificial ears and the latest ITU-T recommendations in that domain, to ANC performance measurements and talk-though performance. This article was originally published in audioXpress, June 2022.

Following up on the two Communication articles published in audioXpress October 2020, Hans W. Gierlich, from HEAD acoustics GmbH, a top expert in his field, contributed this great overview article. With most company employees working from home and the trend toward decentralized organizations and remote collaborations, where webinar and conferencing services are the new way of communication, this a timely topic. This article was originally published in audioXpress, November 2020.

While on the one hand, we experience the benefit of having communication possibilities anytime and anywhere and use all types of communication platforms allowing us to interact in virtual conferences without being present physically - we also experience significant variations in communication quality, especially when being involved in virtual meetings. The question is: What is communication quality and which factors distinguish good communication quality from poor communication quality?

This article by Hans W. Gierlich and Jan Reimes - two top experts in communication technologies from HEAD acoustics GmbH - details the expanded effort for understanding speech under noisy conditions, and addresses a new approach recently introduced by HEAD acoustics, resulting in a new model that can be used to test active noise cancellation (ANC) performance in complex scenarios where the system needs to distinguish between speech signals as part of the background noise and speech signals directed toward the users of these devices. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2020.

In this article for audioXpress, Hans W. Gierlich, managing director of HEAD acoustics, explains how to test the different performance parameters of smart speakers and smart home devices under real-life conditions, how to deal with the challenges of optimizing systems for voice and audio quality, how to simulate environmental conditions, user behavior, and test the performance of the various functionalities. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2019.

From speaker practice and theory, this article on advanced test methods for improving Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) headphone performance attempts to gain better data to draw stronger conclusions about the ANC performance and is a must-read for product developers and anyone interesting in learning how to evaluate those systems. This article was originally published in audioXpress, October 2018.