DIGITAL has a hearing laboratory equipped to international standards (ITU-R BS 1116-1).
Our DIGITAL institute has a hearing laboratory equipped to international standards. "The combination of the best infrastructure and independent experts makes us a leader in Austria. We are not only able to carry out professional hearing tests, but also test series with human factors. This enables us to provide our customers with general audiovisual demos for ongoing projects," explains Franz Graf, head of the research group. For example, the 'room-in-room' design ensures complete isolation from ambient noise. The audio lab also offers perfect surround sound and high-quality video playback at the same time.
A major area of activity for our research group is the whole area of mobile phones and mobile communications. The suppression of background noise is particularly important for clear voice transmission. The industry's need for standardised test series has also increased as quality requirements have become more stringent. The spatial equipment for professional hearing tests, the training of professional listeners and the implementation of the test series are key success criteria for our hearing laboratory.
The judgement of the Expert Listeners is particularly important and can only be made by specially trained professionals. Expert listeners are the sommeliers of acoustics: When is a sound "sharp"? What is a "harsh sound"? These precise judgements by our scientists are essential to our development work.
The Audio Lab is operated in collaboration with several partners from academia and industry, in particular the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and the Technical University of Graz.
The laboratory combines state-of-the-art measurement technology with intelligent analysis software for prototype development and human factors and ergonomics studies.