In-Car Audio, Electric Vehicles, and the Babel Fish: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Shenzhen
On my recent trip to Shenzhen to attend the ISEAT conference, I stumbled – or perhaps purposefully wandered – into a technology store and discovered a hidden danger that was not there on my previous visits: electric cars. Alongside the long tables of phones, headphones, smart speakers, watches and more, cars were for sale. They were similarly presented to the other goods on offer – in a long row with information panels outlining the technical specifications. For technology nerds like me, this setup presents a new level of risk for impulse buying! While I didn’t attempt to purchase a car on this occasion (much to my wife’s relief), I would guess it’s pretty easy with a high-limit credit card!
As I roamed the aisles, marveling at the seamless integration of audio technology in each device, and pondered the different ways I would test each one’s sound quality. My thoughts drifted to basic loudspeaker measurements, sophisticated ANC headphone tests, open loop measurements on smart devices, POLQA or TIA standards measurements on communications devices. Even a full suite of in-car audio measurements using a 6 microphone array.
That final thought pulled me back to my real purpose in Shenzhen – the presentation on in-car audio measurements I was scheduled to give at ISEAT the next day, and I headed back to my hotel room for a final review and a good night’s sleep.
I was in Shenzhen to speak at the 9th International Symposium on Electroacoustic Technology (ISEAT) conference, China’s leading industry event for all things related to audio and electroacoustics. Organized by Prof. Yong Shen at Nanjing University, its location in the midst of the electronics-manufacturing heavy Guangdong area ensures good attendance from those in industry, and there’s always a good roster of international presenters. I’ve attended this event many times in the past, but this was the first since the pandemic.
My presentation was about standardized in-car audio measurements. It outlined the work of the AES Technical Committee on Automotive Audio (TC-AA), of which I am a member, and also demonstrated some additional measurements to more fully characterize an in-car audio system.
The AES TC-AA started working on standard methods for measuring audio quality in cars back in 2020. Consistent measurement methods provide a framework that allows manufacturers to more easily compare important audio features, and facilitates alignment between Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs. In October 2023, we published a white paper recommending standard measurements and test setups and I was honored to be sharing this collaborative work for the first time in Asia to solicit valuable feedback from the many automotive companies in this region.
Over 100 people attended my presentation, and the paper seemed well received, with consensus that standards are needed. I hope that some of the engineers I spoke to will download the paper, make some measurements using the methods described, and share their feedback with the committee. Engineers at the event also shared with me similar efforts that have been developed in China, and provided me with a copy of their own plans and recommendations. I look forward to sharing this with the rest of the TC-AA committee. If we can find alignment between the 2 proposals, that would be an amazing result for the global automotive audio industry!
The ISEAT conference had a strong automotive theme this year. In addition to my presentation, an entire morning session was also dedicated to the subject. It featured papers and demonstrations on subjects as diverse as subjective in-car sound quality evaluation, system design, automotive audio DSP chips and tuning from both Chinese companies such as Zeekr, Nio, and Great Wall Motor as well as international contributors Lotus, Cadence, QNX and more.
I mentioned earlier that the event included many invited presenters from outside of China. In prior years, papers from English speaking authors were presented with real-time, in-person translation for local audiences. This year, however, the conference introduced simultaneous AI translation. This allowed for longer, more in-depth presentations and, according to my Chinese colleagues, was impressively accurate – even for technical material.
Unfortunately there was no reverse translation when the Chinese language presentations were given, making it hard for the invited English-speakers to follow along. However, my local distributor came to my rescue with a recently procured pair of translating earbuds. Excited to try a real life Babel fish, I eagerly inserted them into my ears, and turned them on. They worked! The translation was nearly instantaneous, and clear enough for me to follow along with the presentation and comprehend the key points. There was a small time-lag between hearing and translating, but I am sure that will be improved on in subsequent models. I’m pretty sure I’ll be buying my own before my next business trip! Naturally I’ll need to test all the audio performance parameters in our lab first – the microphone performance, speaker quality, time delay, Bluetooth transmission etc.
We also had good discussions on the exhibit floor, although visitor numbers seemed lower than in prior years. I’m not sure if this is a reflection on the economy, the higher booth cost, the move from Nanjing University to the Convention & Exhibition Center in Shenzhen or simply that travel has not yet returned to pre-Covid levels. However, the visitors who attended were open and engaging, and I had several valuable discussions about testing a wide range of different products, particularly about the trend towards perceptual measurement methods for end of line tests.
As I reflected on my trip on my flight home, I found myself again thinking about the electronics store I experienced on my first day, contemplating the treasure-trove of electronics under one roof and the bold strategy of selling a $40,000 car in much the same way as a $400 phone. I realized the reason this store resonated with me so much was the prevalence of audio in pretty much every device. The inclusion of cars is not incongruous or strange to me. It makes perfect sense when you consider the automobile as an immersive audio experience that also happens to transport you from one place to another.
Modern cars include large numbers of speakers, sound zones, spatial audio, road noise reduction and more. The adoption of advanced audio features is even faster in electric vehicles. I suspect the influx of new EV-only manufacturers brings a different mindset to the industry: that the car is first and foremost an electronic device. However, even in conventional cars, audio is becoming a bigger differentiator as cars become quieter and driverless – or tend towards becoming mobile entertainment booths.
One thing that’s for sure – China is advancing technology, infrastructure and construction at lightning speed and I can only imagine the new gadgets I’ll see in the store next time I visit – maybe drones, e-bikes, personal flying craft, or even something not yet conceived. Whatever it is, I bet that audio will be integral to its performance and I’ll be looking forward to the challenges of testing it.
Aside from the business opportunities and indulging in my obsession with all things audio, what stood out most on this trip, as always, was the hospitality of the Chinese people. Despite geopolitical tensions, the people were as warm and welcoming as ever. The food was amazing, particularly the phenomenal array of high quality seafood – crispy fish skin, giant clams and some amazing crabs – all beautifully prepared and presented, and washed down with some delicious local beer. I hope to be back soon, hopefully with Babel fish version 2 in my ears. Until then, “So long and thanks for all the fish.”
