Voice Communication Research and Evaluation System

Aircraft voice communications may be degraded by a variety of sources such as electrical andor acoustical noise, radio interference, jamming and various other forms of distraction. The Voice Communication Research and Evaluation System, located in the Biodynamics and Bioengineering Division of the Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, has been developed for the comprehensive analysis and enhancement of operational voice communication. The basic system is comprised of a multi-station voice communication network consisting of the USAF standard aircraft intercommunication system, a standard A-19 diluter-demand oxygen regulation system and an on line computer data collection and data analysis system that displays results in real time. The system is housed in a large reverberation chamber containing a programmable sound source capable of reproducing the spectrum and level of any AF operational noise environment. Standardized voice communication effectiveness test materials are used to assess the performance of any aspect of the total voice communication link, however, emphasis is usually placed upon the performance of the aircrew members. This paper will describe the salient features of this unique system and provide examples of its application to voice communication problems.