Wice audio

In version 2.56 of the WICE system, audio support was added. This enables the possibility to record audio in a vehicle by connecting a microphone to a WCU. This can be either a traditional analog microphone, connected to the 3.5 mm audio socket on the MX-4 WCU, or a USB audio device.

Introduction

By adding the possibility to record audio many interesting opportunities open up. Assume a driver experiences a sound or something out of the ordinary. By pressing a button the driver can record a short voice message, which later can be listened to by someone analyzing the data. The recorded audio files are uploaded to the WICE Portal and can be accessed through the Get Result Files panel for the Audio task. In later versions we will introduce the possibility to see that an audio recording is available when looking at other data that is available. Such a function will be rendered in connection to preview files and looking at a WCU:s measurement timeline panel. This can add valuable information to the observed data. This can already be done for a video assignment, see video preview.

Recording audio

To record audio, an Audio Task must be created. To see how this is done have a look at here. To be able to monitor audio data live, the audio module must be set to allow this. If audio montoring is disabled, no streaming audio will be provided for listening to live.

Configuring the audio module

In addition to creating an audio assignment, the audio module must be correctly configured. For an explanation on how to configure the module, have a look here.

Codecs

When the audio module is configured for monitoring, you have a set a codecs to choose from. The choice has to do with what quality of the sound you would like. Selecting a PCM codec will yield a better quality but consume more bandwidth. In case the connectivity from the WCU to the reflector is limited, interruptions in the sound will be experienced and this can many times make it hard to hear what is said. If this is the case, you can switch to either GSM or preferably G.711 which will use less bandwidth but the quality is lower.

To read more about codecs, have look here.