Designing Sound Effects To Gently Warn Pedestrians Of Silent Vehicles

Friday, May 2, 2014 - 14:30 in Mathematics & Economics

Above: Acoustic engineers tested alert sounds for EVs against more common street sounds like a “big truck” or a common automobile (“Mitsu 1156 rpm”), to learn which were most effective and audible without being irritating. Credit: Quartz/Delta We rely heavily upon our hearing to stay safe from moving vehicles. Combustion-powered vehicles make plenty of noise, of course. But electric vehicles (EVs) are so quiet at slow speeds that pedestrians and bicyclists can't hear them coming. As a solution, manufacturers are adding artificial sound options to EVs, but how can they be sure those sounds will be the best choices for alerting passers-by? Enter acoustic science. Quartz reports today that Danish tech firm Delta has created an assortment of potential EV sounds, and collected data on which are most effective at being audible to those who need to hear them (perceptibility), without creating noise pollution for everyone else (irritation). That metric was termed...

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