06/04/2021 Lab setup requirements | Assistant Partners | Google Developers

Lab setup requirements 

ART Certi cation Lab Setup describes the environment and equipment required for performing
acoustic tests on Google Assistant products. Most equipment may be exchanged for devices
of like performance. Cables, adapters, stands, and other accessories are outside the scope of
this document. Accessories are at the discretion of each lab.

Each device type may require additional equipment for setup, control, mounting, power, etc.
Refer to the device testing procedure documents.

Acoustic chamber

Tests are executed in an acoustic chamber with the control station located outside of the
chamber. Independent veri cation of noise and reverberation in the chamber is required for
certi cation labs.

The acoustic chamber MUST meet the requirements of ETSI 202-396-1 Section 6.1.

The delta between the minimum RT60 value and the maximum RT60 value within the
speech range (100Hz-8kHz) MUST be less than or equal to 0.25s.

For far- eld device testing the acoustic chamber MUST be at least 300cm by 350cm.

Near- eld devices may be tested at the minimum room size speci ed by ETSI 202-396-1
Section 6.1.

Labs are permitted to operate on our previous acoustic chamber standard

Background noise system

The background noise system generates wideband, diffused noise during device testing. Noise
sources must be calibrated periodically using a reference microphone and SoundCheck.

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Professional calibration of the background noise system is not required.

Recommended solution

Four KEF Q100 or KEF Q300 speakers

QSC PLD 4.2 rackmount digital ampli er

ng: Full output may damage the speakers. Use negative gain to ensure the wattage received by your speakers
acceptable limits.

Full requirements

Four speakers

Coaxial tweeters and primary drivers

Frequency response at ± 12 dB in 1/12 octave steps from 50 Hz - 20 kHz

 Note: Advertised frequency response is typically not measured in 1/12 octaves.

Minimum output power ≥ 104dB SPL with 1kHz, 0 dB full signal (FS)

Ampli er (built-in or external):

≤ 1% harmonic distortion

Frequency response at ± 0.5dB 50 Hz - 20k Hz

Signal to noise ratio ≥ 90 dB

Simulated users

For far eld devices, users are simulated by mouth simulators. Near eld devices require a
head and torso simulator, as re ections from the user become important to the device’s
performance. Many near eld devices are worn or held by the user, which can be simulated by
placing the device on the head and torso simulator.

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Recommended solution

Four B&K 4227 or GRAS 44AB mouth simulators

QSC PLD 4.2 digital ampli er

ng: Full output may damage the speakers. Use negative gain to ensure the wattage received by your speakers
acceptable limits.

GRAS 45BC-10 KEMAR or B&K 4128-C Head and Torso Simulator

 Note: Head and Torso Simulator is only required for near eld device testing.

Passive devices require an external ampli er. Active devices are also acceptable.

Full requirements

Four mouth simulators meeting ITU Rec. P.51:

Power rating 10 w with 2 second bursts to 50 w

≥ 94 dB SPL continuous output at Mouth Reference Point (MRP)

 Note: This part is not required for testing near- eld only devices.

Head and Torso Simulator meeting ITU Rec. P.58:

Ear simulators meeting International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Rec. P.57:

Anthropomorphic Pinae

Mouth simulator meeting ITU Rec. P.51

Anthropomorphic mannequin with accurate features extending to the navel

“Minimal geometry” mannequins are not acceptable

 Note: This part is only required for testing near- eld devices.

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Ampli er (built-in or external):

≤ 1% harmonic distortion

Frequency response at ± 0.5dB 50 Hz - 20k Hz

Signal to noise ratio ≥ 90 dB

50 w output with full scale input

NOTE: ampli ers with > 50 w output may be used if a power limiter or gain setting is used to
prevent output over 50 w.

Calibration and control system

The calibration and control system allows sources in the chamber to be accurately calibrated
in position without the need for professional calibration. Professional calibration of the
reference microphones and microphone calibrator is required annually, or according to the
manufacturer’s recommendations.

Required components

ng: Apple broke USB 2.0 (https://cdm.link/2019/02/apple-2018-glitch/) in all 2018 and later hardware. A USB 3
interface or external Thunderbolt 3 hub is required.

Mac OS X machine:

Minimum quad core, 2.4Ghz CPU

8GB RAM

250GB SSD

Listen Inc SoundCheck Plus, version 17 or newer

 Warning: Do not substitute this.

WAV le equalization module

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Time domain waveform lter

Active speech level

Transfer functions option in post processing: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and
inverse FFT

8 channel acquisition

Annual support contract (optional)

Portland Tool & Die Bluetooth Interface.

 Warning: Do not substitute this.

Only required when controlling device media over Bluetooth is necessary or desired.

Model BQC-4148, BTC-4148, BQC-4149, or BTC-4149

Contact Listen Inc. to order.

Eight Input / Eight Output USB Audio Interface Calibrated for SoundCheck

Recommended: RME 802 calibrated by Listen Inc.

Single device for all channels

48 kHz sample rate

24 bit samples

Signal to noise ratio ≥ 110 dB unweighted

Inputs individually switchable from microphone to line level

Minimum four microphone level inputs

Calibration required on all channels

Output to input latency ± 1 sample.

Voltage peak +/- 0.01v.

Self-calibration with SoundCheck calibration routine is acceptable.

Reference Microphones

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Type: Two 1/4" Pressure-Field microphones

Recommendation: GRAS 46BL, B&K 4988-A, or Listen Inc. SCM-3

Frequency range - 20 Hz to 16 kHz with response at ± 3 dB

Inherit noise ≤ 40 dBA

Dynamic range ≥ 100 dB SPL

Follow manufacturer's recommendations for professional calibration.

At a minimum frequency response and sensitivity must be veri ed annually by an

Microphone Power Supply

Recommendation: Listen Inc. SoundConnect 2

Frequency Response: at ± 0.05 dB

Signal to Noise Ratio (with required ampli cation): ≥ 110 dB unweighted

Check datasheet for your speci c reference microphone and follow manufacturer's
recommendation for powering your microphone.

Microphone Calibrator

Recommendation: GRAS 42AG or B&K 4231

Uncertainty ≤ 0.1dB

Substitute with microphone manufacturer's recommended calibrator

Follow manufacturer's recommendation for professional calibration

At a minimum, the unit should be inspected annually and veri ed to perform within
manufacturer's tolerances.

Wireless Router

Dual band (2.4 and 5 GHz) Wi-Fi AC

Gigabit LAN

Optional equipment

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Acoustic Analyzer

Class I Microphone for low noise measurements

RT60 measurements meeting ISO 3382-2 2008

Noise Curve measurements meeting ANSI S12.2 2008

Remote monitoring and/or timer function

Follow manufacturer's recommendation for professional calibration

Power Conditioner

Overvoltage and surge protection

Sine wave noise reduction

Equipment layout and wiring

Background noise speakers

Background noise speakers are installed in each corner of the chamber, 30 cm from the corner,
100 cm from the oor and at 45° angles relative to the walls. All measurements are made from
the center of the speaker's primary driver.

The speakers may be connected to any hardware output on the audio interface. SoundCheck
channels for the speakers must be named "Noise 1", "Noise 2", "Noise 3", and "Noise 4". Noise
1 is behind and to the right of the DUT position, each speaker is then named clockwise around
the DUT.

Device Under Test (DUT)

The Device Under Test (DUT) is placed at the ⅔ point on the length and width of the room 100
cm from the oor. Measurements are made from the center of the DUT. See device testing
procedure documents for speci cs regarding each device type.

Head and Torso Simulator (HATS)

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For near eld device testing the Head and Torso Simulator (HATS) is placed 50 cm behind the
DUT and 35 cm above it. Measurements are made from the MRP of the HATS. The HATS is
removed for far eld device testing.

The HATS mouth may be connected to any hardware output on the audio interface. It may
share an output with a mouth simulator, typically Mouth 1, but only one may be connected at
any time (signals may not be split). The SoundCheck output channel must be named "HATS
Mouth". The HATS ear simulator microphones are currently not used.

Mouth simulators

Far eld device testing mouth simulators are placed 100 cm from the oor at 0°, 90°, 135°, and
180° relative to the DUT (with 0° being directly behind the DUT). These are referred to as
"Mouth 1", "Mouth 2", "Mouth 3", and "Mouth 4" respectively with output channels in
SoundCheck named accordingly. Mouth Simulators are oriented towards the DUT ± 5° and
parallel to the oor.

Distances to the DUT are dependant on the speci c re ection characteristics of the lab. Mouth
simulator 1 is placed in the near eld, Mouth simulator 2 is placed in mid eld, and Mouth
simulators 3 and 4 are placed in far eld. To determine these locations, follow this procedure
individually for each mouth simulator:

1. Place the mouth at the correct height and angle relative to the DUT position. Start at a
horizontal distance of 20 cm

The mouth does not need to be equalized or leveled

2. Place the reference microphones at the DUT position

The reference microphones must be calibrated for this procedure.

3. Generate signals for each 1/1 octave from 100 Hz - 8 kHz.

Signals should be generated and measured individually to prevent intermodulation

4. Measure the received signal at the reference microphones.

a. Use a bandpass lter and slow averaging to remove background noise.

b. Adjust each generated signal to reach 80 dB SPL 1dB at the initial position

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5. Move the source away from the DUT position in 10 cm increments recording the received
signal for each signal at each position.

Near eld is characterized by a steep, linear decline in received signal with minimal turbulence.
The end of the near eld region will vary with frequency. Place Mouth 1 at the farthest position
where all frequencies are in the near eld region. In the near eld region, the received signal is
dominated by the direct path from the source.

Mid eld immediately follows near eld and is characterized by a 20 - 40 cm wide dip in the
received signal. Mid eld may also be observed as a shallow, linear decline of about 3 dB over
20 - 40cm. The mid eld regions may not all overlap, given their relatively short length. The
center of the mid eld region, is the critical distance where the sum of all re ected signals is
equal to the direct signal. Place Mouth 2 at the median critical distance. A dip in signal
strength is observed at mid eld, because the re ections begin to interfere destructively with
the direct signal.

Everything beyond mid eld is far eld. Far eld begins with an increase in signal strength of at
least 3 dB over the lowest point of the mid eld region. Far eld is typically turbulent with the
received signal strength becoming atter as distance increases. Place Mouth 3 and 4 at
between 2 and 3 times the longest critical distance but not less than 50cm from the nearest
wall.

Mouth simulators 2, 3, and 4 may be left in the chamber during near eld device testing. Mouth
simulator 1 must be removed, to make room for the HATS.

Drawings

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Calibration procedure

Calibration of the reference microphones MUST be completed daily or at the start of each test.
Accurate calibration of the reference microphones depends on an accurate microphone
calibrator, which MUST be tested independently annually.

Calibration of the speakers, mouth simulators, and HATS MUST be completed at least once
every 30 days. Calibration should be executed more frequently, especially with new equipment.

Frequent calibration checks are advised. If a device shows signi cantly degraded performance,
any results depending on that device, since the last calibration are invalid.

Microphone calibration

The reference microphones must be connected and con gured in SoundCheck as an input
channel named "Reference Mic Left" and "Reference Mic Right".

1. Connect the microphone calibrator and con gure for 1kHz tone at 94 dB SPL.

2. Adjust gain on the microphone power supply to approach (but not exceed) -18dB FS.

This makes the best use of the digital range of the audio interface without causing
clipping.

You can measure dB FS with SoundCheck's multimeter. Your input channel will need to
be con gured as a digital, rather than analog input.

3. Execute SoundCheck Microphone Calibration routine.

Be sure to note gain applied for correct sensitivity calculation.

4. Import or enter the microphone's frequency response (inverted) into the microphone
correction curve.

These are general instructions for the type of microphone recommended. Follow your manufacturer's calibrat
ctions if they differ from the level and frequency used here.

Speaker and Mouth Simulator Calibration

Equalization

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All output devices must be equalized ± 0.5dB in 1/12 octaves throughout their intended
operating range. Equalization is completed with a stepped sine sweep at highest level intended
for use during a test. SoundCheck's built-in Speaker Equalization sequence is used for this
task.

Mouth simulators are calibrated at the MRP, 89.3 dB SPL from 100 Hz - 8 kHz. Noise speakers
are calibrated 25 cm from the center of their primary driver, 80 dB SPL from 50 Hz - 20 kHz. All
devices must be connected and con gured in SoundCheck. The expected channel names are
"HATS Mouth", "Noise 1", and "Mouth 1" (replacing one with 2, 3, and 4 for additional channels).

1. Install one of the reference microphones at the required position.

2. Start SoundCheck Speaker Equalization sequence.

3. When prompted, enter the level and frequency range speci ed.

4. Observe measured frequency response.

5. When prompted, if the response is at enough, answer "Yes" if all points of the response
curve measures < 0.5dB deviation from the zero line. Answer "No" to continue the
equalization sequence if any point measures >= 0.5dB deviation.

Sensitivity - Noise Speakers and Mouth Simulators excluding HATS

Sensitivity for all sources except the head and torso simulator is calculated by the sound levels
which reach the DUT position. Place all audio sources in their proper positions and install the
reference microphones at the DUT position.

Follow the appropriate procedure for your ART version.

ART 4 Sensitivity Calculation

Sensitivity - Head and Torso Simulator

Sensitivity of the Head and Torso Simulator (HATS) is set at the MRP. Equalization is also
performed at MRP. SoundCheck's Speaker Equalization routine automatically sets the correct
sensitivity. No additional calibration is required.

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Last updated 2021-02-25 UTC.

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