ANNEX IIISupplementary provisions
ANNEX III Crash resistance of audio equipment 1. Requirements 1.1. Performance requirements 1.1.1. The assessment of the crash resistance of the eCall audio equipment of vehicles with eCall in-vehicle systems installed, carried out in accordance with point 2, shall be considered satisfactory if the following requirements are demonstrated post-impact as regards the frontal impact test as well as the side impact test, as applicable. 1.1.2. Reconnection of audio equipment: The eCall system shall reconnect the loudspeaker(s) and microphone(s) after being disconnected during an eCall for MSD transmission. 1.1.3. Voice communication: The eCall system shall allow hands-free voice communication (send and receive direction) of sufficient intelligibility between vehicle occupants and an operator. 2. Test procedure 2.1. Purpose of the audio equipment crash resistance test procedure The purpose of this test is to verify that loudspeaker(s) and microphone(s) are successfully reconnected after being disconnected for MSD transmission and that the audio equipment remained functional after the vehicle has been subjected to the frontal impact or the side impact test. 2.2. The following verification test shall be performed on a vehicle with the eCall in-vehicle system installed that has been subjected to a full-scale impact according to Regulation No 94, Annex 3 for frontal impact or UN Regulation No 95, Annex 4 for side impact, as set out in point 1.1.1 above. 2.3. Overview of test procedure 2.3.1. The sustained functionality of the audio equipment shall be verified by performing a test call after the impact test and using the voice communication channel between the vehicle and the PSAP test point. 2.3.2. Two test engineers, positioned in the vehicle (near-end tester) and at the PSAP test point (far-end tester) respectively, successively transmit (read and listen) pre-defined, phonetically balanced sentences in single talk mode. 2.3.3. The testers are required to assess whether they were able to understand the meaning of the transmission in the send and receive directions. 2.4. Arrangement of testers 2.4.1. The test shall be performed in a quiet environment, with a background noise level of not more than 50 dB(A) and that is free from any noise sources that might otherwise disrupt the tests. 2.4.2. The near-end tester shall be positioned so that his head is close to a normal seating position on the driver's seat of the impacted vehicle. The tester shall use the in-vehicle audio equipment in the original arrangement. 2.4.3. The far-end tester shall be positioned away from the vehicle with sufficient separation so that speech in normal loudness from one tester cannot be understood without any aids by the other tester. 2.5. Test setup 2.5.1. Before performing the test call, ensure that: (a) one of the connection procedures defined in point 2.7 of Annex I to this Regulation, as agreed between technical service and manufacturer, will be applied for any test call; (b) the dedicated PSAP test point is available to receive an eCall emitted by the 112-based system; (c) a false eCall to a genuine PSAP cannot be made over the live network; (d) if applicable, the TPS system is deactivated or will automatically switch to the 112-based system; and (e) the vehicle ignition or master control switch is activated. 2.5.2. Where it is possible to adapt the volume setting, the maximum volume control setting in send and receive direction at the near-end and at the far-end shall be chosen. The volume control settings at the far-end may be decreased during the test if required for better intelligibility. 2.5.3. If possible, no mobile networks that have an influence on the hands-free performance (e.g. echo, AGC, noise reduction, etc.) should be chosen for the connection. For simulated networks, if possible, DTX shall be switched off, the full rate codec shall be used (for GSM standard) and the highest bit rate of 12,2 kbit/s shall be used (for AMR codecs). 2.6. Test call 2.6.1. Perform a test call (push mode) by applying a manual trigger via the in-vehicle HMI and wait until the loudspeaker(s) and microphone(s) are reconnected for voice communication after completed MSD transmission. 2.6.2. Exchange of test messages 2.6.2.1. Receive direction 2.6.2.1.1. The far-end tester shall select and read one sentence pair of the list provided in the Appendix. The tester shall read the sentences in a normal volume as used in phone calls. 2.6.2.1.2. The near-end tester shall assess whether the voice transmission in the receive direction was intelligible: The test in receive direction is passed if the near-end tester, resting in his original seating position, was able, with any feasible effort, to understand the full meaning of the transmission. 2.6.2.1.3. If required for the assessment, the near-end tester can request from the far-end tester to transmit additional sentence pairs. 2.6.2.2. Send direction 2.6.2.2.1. The near-end tester shall select and, resting in his original seating position, read one sentence pair of the list provided in the Appendix. The tester shall read the sentences in a normal volume as used in phone calls. 2.6.2.2.2. The far-end tester shall assess whether the voice transmission in the send direction was intelligible: The test in send direction is passed if the far-end tester was able, with any feasible effort, to understand the full meaning of the transmission. 2.6.2.2.3. If required for the assessment, the far-end tester can request from the near-end tester to transmit additional sentence pairs. 2.6.3. Clear down the test call using the appropriate PSAP test point command (e.g. hang up). 2.6.4. If the requirements cannot be fulfilled due to impairments introduced by the PSAP test point or the transmission medium, the test call may be repeated, if required in an adapted test setup. 2.7. Connection procedures 2.7.1. The connection procedures defined in point 2.7 of Annex I to this Regulation shall apply.