Artificial Vehicle Sound Control for BEV Relative Speed Cues
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) face difficulty in determining the relative speed of other vehicles due to reduced audible cues, which diminishes their speed perception, especially when encountering vehicles with high silence performance like BEVs or fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
Innovation Solution
A sound control system for BEVs that uses sensors to detect peripheral vehicles, generates artificial sounds simulating engine or wind noises, and adjusts sound characteristics based on relative speed and distance to enhance the driver's perception of relative speed and distance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the silence performance of the battery electric vehicle is enhanced, then the noise from the vehicle is reduced, but the driver's ability to perceive the relative speed of other vehicles is diminished
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (sound control device) that generates artificial sounds to mediate between the silent EV environment and the driver's need for speed perception. The device uses sensors to detect other vehicles and generates appropriate sounds to convey relative speed information, acting as a mediator that compensates for the information loss caused by enhanced silence performance.
2Loss of information
If artificial sounds are generated to compensate for reduced audible cues, then the driver's speed perception is improved, but the natural silence performance of the EV is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The sound control device dynamically adjusts the generation of artificial sounds based on real-time detection of other vehicles and their relative speeds. The system is not continuously active but rather adapts its behavior according to environmental conditions, generating sounds only when necessary to maintain speed perception while preserving the EV's inherent silence performance during normal operation.
3Device complexity
If the driver relies on natural sounds from other vehicles to determine relative speed, then no additional devices are needed, but the driver cannot accurately perceive speed when other vehicles are silent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the passive mechanical/acoustic system of natural sound propagation with an active electronic system that uses sensors to detect other vehicles and electronically generates artificial sounds. This substitution enables accurate relative speed detection even when natural acoustic cues are absent, trading system complexity for measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A sound control system that is applied to a battery electric vehicle includes: a speaker that is equipped in the battery electric vehicle; a sensor that is configured to detect information about a peripheral environment of the battery electric vehicle; and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to recognize a target vehicle based on the information detected by the sensor, the target vehicle being at least one of other vehicles that travel in the periphery of the battery electric vehicle, is configured to generate an artificial sound related to the target vehicle, is configured to output the artificial sound from the speaker, and is configured to change the characteristic of the artificial sound depending on the relative speed of the target vehicle with respect to the battery electric vehicle.