What’s happening
- As part of the Creative Week event, the Sound Design Institute and SoundDesigner.PRO studio demonstrated Autovoice technology, the world's first synthesizer for generative voice-over of an electric car.
- The system works as follows: when the pedals are pressed, Autovoice generates a sound similar to the sound of a car engine. However, unlike similar systems, sound generation does not occur due to the playback of samples but through sound synthesis. The technology is used in the minimum speed range as well as when moving backward.
- Autovoice is designed to ensure the safety of traffic involving electric vehicles since an electric motor does not produce the characteristic sounds of a car, making it more dangerous on the road.
- According to representatives of the Sound Design Institute, the technology can be applied to personal cars, electric buses, and urban scooters.
What does it mean?
The rapid development of electric transport brings up the issue of ensuring road traffic with a new "participant" in the transport system. Despite the fact that electric cars are a convenient and eco-friendly means of transportation, the electric motor is much quieter than internal combustion engines, posing a greater danger to pedestrians who can hardly hear the approach of the car. In this regard, the European Union in 2019 mandated manufacturers of electric cars to equip vehicles with an acoustic vehicle warning system (AVAS) that simulates the sound of a standard internal combustion engine when driving at a speed of less than 20 km/h and when reversing. Since July 2021, this regulation applies to all electric and hybrid vehicles registered in the EU. Similar measures have also been implemented in the USA and several other countries.
However, currently, there is no standardized sound generation system for electric cars, and each carmaker is trying to create its own unique sound. For example, Mercedes collaborated with the group Linkin Park to create its distinctive "sound."
At SoundDesigner.PRO studio, we hope that the fundamental sound generation principles developed by us will become a new standard and help make the movement of electric vehicles safer.