为电动车寻找理想“嗓音”

电动车无噪音的特性对大多数民众来说可能是项优点，但在此同时，当车辆以近乎完美的无声状态在道路上滑翔，也为行路人带来潜在的危险。为此，汽车厂商奥迪(Audi)正在试图为电动车寻找一种理想的“嗓音”。

这听起来有点矛盾：电动车最引人瞩目的特性之一，无噪音——既没有六汽缸跑车排气管的隆隆声、也没有柴油车引擎的答答声——却对行人有潜在的危险。据了解，在电动车以时速25公里行驶时，基本上是不会产生任何噪音的，只有在较高速行驶时才会开始听到来自轮胎的噪音；而在高速公路上行驶时，电动车所产生的噪音才会与传统汽车差不多。

但是对交通安全专家来说，电动车的无噪音却是个头痛的问题；他们担心，因为路人长久以来已经习惯于传统汽车所产生的“声音警报”，有可能会无法察觉交错行驶而过的电动车，导致一些可想象得到的意外事故。为此，全球各地的视障者协会提出要求，让电动车搭配特殊的声音以警告视障同胞，在日本与美国都已有相关立法行动展开。

奥迪与其他汽车厂商一样体认到上述的风险，已着手进行一个研发项目，旨在为该公司未来的电动车找到最适当的声音。“只要电动车在时速0~25公里的速度范围内行驶，就是我们所讨论的“无声车”；”负责奥迪电动车声音研发计划的Ralf Kunkel表示，他们的工程师团队打算在未来的电动车上配备某种电子发声器，但问题是电动车到底应该是什么声音？

对奥迪的工程师团队来说，让电动车发出声音不只是做为车辆驶近的警告，也是一项开发该车厂专属电动车声、以建立“声音品牌识别度”的任务。“当然，依照我们所熟悉的内燃机引擎声响来开发电动车的声音是很自然的；”奥迪品牌开发暨企业形象业务负责人Christian Schueler表示：“在另一方面，我们打算强调电动车或混合动力车辆产品的创新性，并希望我们的品牌在电动车时代也能被“听”得到。”

目前奥迪的工程师团队正在考虑到底该为电动车选择哪一种声音；该公司透露，一些类似科幻电影里宇宙飞船的声音已经被淘汰，目前则尚未有其他具体方案成形。工程师们的目标是让奥迪电动车听起来“很创新”….也许，以在电影《机械公敌(I, Robot)》里亮相的概念跑车 奥迪 RSQ 的声音做为参考，会是个不错的点子？

点击进入参考原文：Audi on the search for the right sound, by Christoph Hammerschmidt

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Audi on the search for the right sound

Christoph Hammerschmidt

The absence of noise associated with electric vehicles is considered a relief for many traffic participants. But at the same time, cars gliding along in almost perfect silence represent a potential source of danger. Audi, like many other OEMs, now is trying to find the ideal sound for the e-cars.

It sounds like a paradox: One of the most striking features of e-cars, the absence of the robust sound generated by the exhaust pipe of a six-cylinder sports car or the knocking of a diesel engine creates a potential hazard for pedestrians. E-cars driving at speeds up to 25 km/h are typically not generating any noise at all, only at higher speeds the tyre noise is increasing, and at highway speed, in terms of noise there is no significant difference between electrical vehicles and conventional ones.

The absence of noise creates headaches to traffic safety experts. Used to the acoustic warning generated by conventional vehicles, pedestrians could fail to perceive the approach of electric cars and thus inadvertently cross the way of the e-car with imaginable consequences, they warn. Associations for the Blind all over the world already have demanded to give e-cars their own specific sound in order to warn visually impaired or blind persons. In the USA and Japan, legislative activities are already under way.

Like other OEMs, Audi engineers are alarmed by this potential hazard. The company has set up a research program to determine the best sound for its future e-cars. "As long as an electric vehicle drives in the speed range between 0 and 25 km/h we talk about 'quiet cars'", explained Ralf Kunkel who oversees the acoustic vehicle design for Audi. The engineers will equip future e-cars with some kind electronic sound generator. The problem for the acoustic designers is how an e-car should sound.

The challenge for the OEMs is not only to generate just a kind of noise that signals that a car is approaching: Audi engineer Kunkel regards the task of assigning a specific sound to the e-cars as a chance to create an acoustic brand label. "Of course it is natural to follow the model of the familiar combustion engine," explains Christian Schueler, head of brand development and Corporate Identity at Audi. "On the other hand, we intend to highlight the perception that electric or hybrid electric vehicles are innovative products and we want to make our brand audible also in the age of electromobility."

Now the engineers are mulling their options. Sounds similar to spaceships in science-fiction movies have been considered but have already fallen through, Audi admits. While currently no concrete solution is taking shape, the engineers already know that the electric Audi has to sound "innovatively". An idea could be the sound associated to the Audi RSQ in the movie "I, Robot", EE Times Europe Automotive learned.