An innovative method for the sonification of quiet cars

With the development of electric motorizations, the acoustic feedback that the driver perceives in the passenger compartment has deeply changed. The vanishing of engine noise is often associated with better comfort, but it also represents a substantial loss of information for the driver. Internal combustion engine noise indeed plays a major role in the acoustic contribution of the multisensory perception of motion. In a previous experiment, we showed that it was more difficult for drivers to correctly estimate the vehicle speed without engine noise. Thus, more attention is needed from the driver to correctly regulate the speed in electric cars than in internal combustion engine cars. Consequently, we developed an innovative sonification method to compensate for the loss of auditory information in electric cars. The generated sounds are directly controlled by the vehicle’s driving parameters, which give relevant cues on motion. This method has been tested in a driving simulator study to validate its suitability and to show that the control of sound properties can be adjusted to give precise information to the driver.