FIGURE A

The AutoArray microphone is a long device that might best be attached to your sun visor.

Andrea reports that the microphone will give a 93 percent or better recognition accuracy rate in a driving environment that has a certain noise level. Meanwhile, the current Clarion AutoPC microphone can't recognize anything at the same noise level. While I have no way to validate this number, my experience using the microphone leaves me believing their conclusions.

Installation
The AutoArray is comprised of two primary components, the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) module, shown in Figure B, with power supply and the microphone array with connector cable.

FIGURE B

The DSP is a simple box with a lot of special-purpose computing power.

Installation is really pretty simple as far as hooking up the hardware goes. With the Auto PC powered off, you simply unplug the standard Auto PC microphone from the rear of the Auto PC, and plug the AutoArray DSP module into the now empty microphone jack. The DSP module must be wired to a switched 12V power supply. You should be able to connect this module's positive power lead into the Accessory switch input lead on the Auto PC and connect its ground lead to the ground lead of the Auto PC. Once that's done, you plug the microphone array into the DSP module. It uses a simple RJ-type connector that's slightly larger than the connector on a CAT5 network cable. If you typically don't do any wiring in your car, have a professional do the installation.

With the AutoArray now connected, you should power up the Auto PC and give the microphone a test. You should see a steady green light on the face of the microphone indicating that it is powered up. Keep the microphone face twelve inches or so away from your face and say "Auto PC". The Auto PC should promptly respond, awaiting your next command word. Once you have verified that the AutoArray is working correctly, you can use the double-sided tape or spring clips to install the AutoArray on the visor of the driver. Fasten down the DSP module and tie or tuck the wires securely. Check Andrea Electronics' installation instructions for complete installation information.

Operation
There really isn't anything that you do with the AutoArray besides speak. Don't speak at it, let it find you and keep your eyes on the road. The AutoArray will find you in three dimensional space much like the human auditory system would. It then focuses and tracks your voice, feeding a very clear signal of your voice to the Auto PC. The Auto PC speech recognition software really seems to like the AutoArray. Given that the signal is so clear, its recognizer takes less time to recognize your speech.

Performance
I tried creating a variety of ambient noise conditions. Only in the noisiest cases, I couldn't get the AutoArray to pick out my voice. By noisiest cases I mean having the radio volume cranked so loud that it was painful to listen to (even then it would pick out my voice if I spoke louder). Under even moderately loud volume conditions, I rarely had to raise my voice to get the Auto PC to recognize me. Under these same volume conditions, I would have to yell to get the Auto PC to recognize me using the standard microphone.