Posted on Wednesday 13 February 2008
Although the relative silence of hybrid vehicles has made them the choice of TV gangsters for drive-by shootings, the rest of the world is less than enamored with the difficulty involved in hearing one coming - especially when trying to cross the street. Lotus’ response to the problem: engineer a system that re-creates the sound of a normal car.
Sounds like a bizarre exercise indeed, but it turns out that many pedestrians rely on their hearing more than their sight to tell them when danger is near. People listening to music players, talking on cell phones and generally not paying attention all are in danger of not noticing the near-silent hybrids until it’s too late. So Lotus has developed a system that senses the throttle position and combines that data with the input from a speed sensor and a ’synthesis controller’ then sends sound through an amplifier and out a set of 300W speakers in the nose of the car. The result is a realistic motor sound for both pedestrians and passengers alike. Engine sounds were chosen because synthetic beeps and similar sounds were found to be less recognizable as an oncoming car.
The system is coupled with Lotus’ special Sound Synthesis technology that actively cancels road and engine noise in the cabin, making for a quieter ride all around. This technology can also help tune the sound of the engine from a Porsche-like flat-six to a monstrous American V8.
Now all that’s needed is for aftermarket tuners to get their hands on the system. Then you can cruise the streets of your city with very life-like Formula 1 or Jaguar V12 sounds coming from your Toyota Prius. That’ll certainly keep the pedestrians alert, not to mention confused. Unfortunately, the technology is still in development, so you’ll have an unspecified wait before you can flex your synthetic muscle at stop lights.
THEY ALREADY HAVE THIS TECHNOLOGY, IT’S CALLED “VROOM BOX”. GOOGLE IT.
Lotus???, the people that made the Elise, Lotus??? Why would they be making things for hybrids???
SuperSkyline89:
Lotus is a design and engineering firm in addition to being a car maker. They make all sorts of products for cars. They also manufacture the Tesla on contract, so it’s not surprising that they’d be dealing with solutions for silent cars.
Oh, interesting. Didn’t know that, thanks for the info.