ARTIFICIAL NOISE FOR ELECTRIC CARS IN ARRIVAL by Frank Cutjob
Submitted by Suddovest on Sun, 29/05/2011 - 20:42
The British university of Warwick is studying a project on sound. The results of the research will be transmitted to the European union, which should draft a law regarding that issue within the end of 2011.
So here we are. It is happening. A law is being ratified that will oblige all car-makers to have their quiet electric cars produce a sound: the automotive industry will have to equip them, for safety reasons, with an artificial noise which can alert the passers-by of their arrival.
There is a debate on whether to equip them with a sound that's similar to that of normal combustion engines or opt for another solution: a choice that will set the sound landscape of the large cities in ten or twenty years.
Electric or hydrogen cars are, in fact, quiet, and the rumbling of their tires is louder than the engine itself, which is a benefit that could resultingly be deadly for pedestrians or cyclists at low speed; Nissan has already decided to install speakers under the hood for reasons of safety.
There are different alternatives to the sound of combustion engines (that would actually remove the possibility to live in less acoustically polluted cities): so far the British university of Warwick is studying a deep humming, and a shrill one, a noise similar to that of a sheet in the spokes of a bike's wheel, and something similar to the sound of a UFO from a movie from the Fifties.
What's important is that people are able to associate the chosen sound with transportation; this explains why scientists are resorting to familiar sounds taken from video games or science fiction movies. The results of this research will be sent to the European union, which should decide on a law regarding the matter within the end of 2011.
LINKS
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/researchers_help_m...
So here we are. It is happening. A law is being ratified that will oblige all car-makers to have their quiet electric cars produce a sound: the automotive industry will have to equip them, for safety reasons, with an artificial noise which can alert the passers-by of their arrival.
There is a debate on whether to equip them with a sound that's similar to that of normal combustion engines or opt for another solution: a choice that will set the sound landscape of the large cities in ten or twenty years.
Electric or hydrogen cars are, in fact, quiet, and the rumbling of their tires is louder than the engine itself, which is a benefit that could resultingly be deadly for pedestrians or cyclists at low speed; Nissan has already decided to install speakers under the hood for reasons of safety.
There are different alternatives to the sound of combustion engines (that would actually remove the possibility to live in less acoustically polluted cities): so far the British university of Warwick is studying a deep humming, and a shrill one, a noise similar to that of a sheet in the spokes of a bike's wheel, and something similar to the sound of a UFO from a movie from the Fifties.
What's important is that people are able to associate the chosen sound with transportation; this explains why scientists are resorting to familiar sounds taken from video games or science fiction movies. The results of this research will be sent to the European union, which should decide on a law regarding the matter within the end of 2011.
LINKS
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/researchers_help_m...
ALL THE ENGLISH NEWS BY SUDDOVEST
https://www.suddovest.it/cms/?q=taxonomy/term/59
http://www.repubblica.it/motori/ecoauto/2011/05/18/news/in_arrivo_rumore...
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