ATI Fw: Hybrid and Electric Cars Will Emit Vroomtones

[Reginald George]

Hybrid and Electric Cars Will Emit Vroomtones
Published September 18, 2009
One day, drivers might download "vroomtones" for their cars, the way they
download ringtones for cell phones today.
After years of complaints from blind pedestrians that ultra-quiet hybrid
cars pose a safety threat, the auto industry is responding by producing
on-board devices that emit sound. Nissan is considering using a high-
pitched science fiction sound for its upcoming all-electric Nissan Leaf. The
Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid might use a sound halfway between a jet
engine and an F1 racecar. And Volkswagen's E-Up! concept car, described as
"the Beetle for the 21st century," might use the very 20th century sound of
a common gas engine.

This is music to the ears of advocate organizations for blind people. In
2007, when hybrids starting taking off in the United States, The National
Federation of the Blind called on automakers to set a minimum sound standard
for hybrids. Earlier this year, The Japan Federation of the Blind submitted
a request to Japan's transportation ministry, the Japan Automobile
Manufacturers Association and the country's carmakers to consider the issue.
The ministry set up a committee that met in July and August, and will
present recommendations by Dec. 31, according to Bloomberg.
Toshiyuki Tabata, Nissan's noise and vibration expert, has been working on
developing artificial car sounds for about three years. "We decided that if
we're going to do this, if we have to make sound, then we're going to make
it beautiful and futuristic," he told Bloomberg. "We wanted something a bit
different, something closer to the world of art," said Tabata. The sound
system would turn on automatically when the car starts and shut off when the
vehicle reaches about 10 miles per hour. Nissan presented its sound system
to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Sept. 3.
Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper, reported that Toyota and Fujitsu
Ten Ltd. will soon conduct its own experiment to try out various sounds to
find "the right tune at the right volume so people are alerted but don't
find the sound annoying." Japanese regulations say the sound can't be
mistaken for a horn. Toyota hybrids may begin using sound alert devices as
soon as next year, and those cars might also include "radar" to recognize
the presence of pedestrian.
Sensing a market opportunity, car electronics manufacturers are developing
new noise devices. In 2008, Lotus, the British performance carmaker,
unveiled a system dubbed "Safe and Sound," which generates an artificial
noise mimicking a gas-powered combustion engine. Tokyo-based Data System Co.
currently makes a device selling for about $140 that emits 16 different
sounds including a cat's meow, a "boing," and a human voice saying, "Excuse
me."