ADAS Audio Sensor with VBOX 3i

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Getting Started

This page contains information that is important to know before you use your ADAS Audio Sensor for the first time.

What is in the box?

When you purchase the ADAS Audio Sensor, you will find the following items when you open the box:

Product Code	Quantity	Description
RLADAS-AS-V1	1	Audio Sensor Unit
TV1AM20MB31	1	USB-C to USB-A cable
RLACS343	1	External Microphone
RLCAB005-C	1	5-way LEMO to 5-way LEMO CAN cable
RLCAB007-2	1	3-way LEMO to 4 wire unterminated cable

Optional Accessories

Product Code	Description
RLACS287	Mount
ADC25IPCON	25-way D-connector
SUBCON15M-SH	15-way D-connector

Power Supply

USB

When you connect the Audio sensor to the PC with the USB-A to USB-C cable, the unit will be powered by the PC via the cable so that you can see the live preview of the audio around you and configure the unit.

CAN

You can use a RLCAB005-C cable to connect the Audio Sensor to a VBOX unit to relay the live trigger data via CAN to the VBOX unit. You can see more information about the CAN message output here.

TRIG OUT

You can use the RLCAB007-2 cable wired to the Analogue Input connector to connect the Audio sensor to the VBOX unit. This will send the live trigger data to the VBOX unit via the Analogue Input.

Connection

There are multiple connection methods for the Audio Sensor:

Trigger Out

The RLCAB007-2 is an unterminated cable that you can wire into a Sub-D 25-way connector to connect to the A IN port on a VBOX 3i unit.

CAN

Use the RLCAB005-C to connect from the CAN/PWR port on the Audio Sensor to a CAN port on the VBOX 3i unit.

External Microphone

This is an accessory that is to be used when the sound you are listening for comes from a location that is hard to reach.

Setup process

This page provides the steps for setting up the ADAS Audio Sensor with VBOX Audio Sensor Setup.

Make sure that you have VBOX Audio Sensor Setup installed on your PC.
Connect your ADAS Audio Sensor to your PC with a USB-A to USB-C cable.

This cable will power the unit and provide access to configure the detection and trigger settings.

Audio sensor serial connection to PC.png

Open VBOX Audio Sensor Setup.
Click on the Connect button to open the dropdown list of available COM ports and select the port that you connected the Audio Sensor to. (It will be labeled as USB serial device.)

ADAS Audio Sensor Setup_Startup_Default toolbar_Connect_dropdown.png

When the software has connected to the unit, the graph in the Visualiser will automatically populate and show live feedback of background noise captured by the Audio Sensor's internal microphone (or external microphone if used).
Select the frequency you wish to detect.
You can do this by either clicking directly on the graph to select that frequency, typing the frequency directly into the Selected Freq. (Hz) value box, or using the arrow buttons next to the Selected Freq. (Hz) value box to increase or decrease the frequency value.
You can replay the selected frequency in the software to confirm your selection by clicking on the speaker icon next to the selected frequency in the Visualiser.
Click on the + icon next to the Selected Freq. to add the currently selected frequency to the Frequencies to Detect list.

You can add a maximum of 4 frequencies to detect.
You can set the unit to trigger using the AND or OR functionalities:

VBOX Audio Sensor Setup_Configured_Visualiser.png

AND

When you select AND, the signal detection will only be triggered when all of the frequencies are met simultaneously. You can use this for multi-toned warnings or multi-vibration haptic warnings.

Using AND triggering will significantly reduce false positives from any background noise.

VBOX Audio Sensor Setup_Configured_Frequencies.png

OR

When you select OR, the sensor output will be activated when the unit detects any of the configured frequencies. The Audio Sensor’s CAN bus output contains individual data bits for each frequency. This makes it possible for a connected VBOX 3i unit to establish and highlight which vehicle warning sound has been detected. For example, if it is a seat belt reminder or a Forward Collision Warning.

Additionally, it is common for warnings to rise in both frequency and intensity the longer they have to sound. (Such as the seat belt reminder or the warning cascade described in UNECE R79). The multiple frequency option with OR triggers will give you the ability to measure individual timings in the escalation of warning sounds.

VBOX Audio Sensor Setup_Configured_Frequencies_OR.png

Go to the Advanced Settings area to adjust the following settings, if applicable:

Measure Background Noise Range

Noise Multiplier

Digital Output Fixed Delay (ms)

CAN Output

VBOX Audio Sensor Setup_Configured_Advanced_framed.png

When you are happy with the configured settings, click Write to Unit to save the configuration to your Audio Sensor unit.

Complete Configuration in VBOX Setup

After you have finished setting up the Audio Sensor with the Audio Sensor Setup software, you can connect it to your VBOX 3i unit and complete the configuration with the VBOX Setup software.

Download the ADAS Audio Sensor's .DBC file.
Open VBOX Setup and connect to the relevant COM port for your VBOX 3i unit.
Go to the Channel Configuration Menu and click on the CAN Input section header.

Click on the Add channel button to open the CAN Channel Properties window and configure the CAN input for the Audio Sensor.

Select User under CAN Database and click on the Load button.
Navigate to and select the Audio Sensor .DBC file that you downloaded.

You can now see the list of available messages in the CAN Database area.

Select the message you want to assign/view/log on the VBOX unit, such as Trigger_system or Signal_Delay.
Click Apply to assign the message and preview the live result. You can cause the Audio Sensor to trigger and review the live value in the Value box under Channel properties by clicking on the magnifying glass next to it.

Click OK to add the currently selected channel to the CAN Input channels.
Repeat this process with all the channels you wish to view/log.

Note: If you are using a VBOX 3i unit with firmware version 2.8 or earlier, you can find the equivalent settings in the Channels Menu on the Internal CAN Input tab.

You can find more information about how to configure your VBOX 3i unit in your unit's user guide.