Audio Network Analysis

February 1, 2016

Ryan Gehm

Mentor Automotive has introduced its A²B Analyzer, which the company claims is the industry's first third-party development platform supporting the Automotive Audio Bus—or A²B—technology developed by Analog Devices, Inc. The A²B technology facilitates the design of in-vehicle audio networks with reduced cost and complexity, and the A²B Analyzer helps to reduce the development time for these systems, according to Mentor. A²B utilizes a master-slave line topology to deliver audio and control data, together with clock and power over a single two-wire, unshielded twisted pair cable. The low-latency, deterministic nature of the A²B technology is suitable for in-car audio applications such as hands-free systems, speech recognition, and active noise cancellation. Mentor Automotive designed the A²B Analyzer system hardware and software solution in close cooperation with Analog Devices. The system is part of the Connected OS software development platform which includes the IVI head unit, enabling a distributed speaker network for audio throughout the vehicle, and microphones for active noise control, and the A²B Analyzer system for easy setup, configuration, and functional testing: a complete cockpit development platform utilizing A²B technology. The analyzer system and the Connected OS software platform are now available for evaluation ( https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/xse-automotive/a2b/ ).