Objective evaluation of the sound quality of the warning sound of electric vehicles with a consideration of the masking effect: Annoyance and detectability

• Published in: International journal of automotive technology Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 699 - 705
• Main Authors: Lee, Sang Kwon, Lee, Seung Min, Shin, Taejin, Han, Manug
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Society of Automotive Engineers 01.08.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Automobile safety; Automotive Engineering; Background noise; Braking systems; Electric vehicles; Engineering; Masking; Noise; Noise pollution; Nose; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrians; Sound pressure; TCP-IP; Warning; Detectability; Sound quality; Electric vehicle; Whine index; Annoyance; Masking effect
• ISSN: 1229-9138; 1976-3832
• DOI: 10.1007/s12239-017-0069-6

This study developed a method to evaluate the sound quality of the warning sound masked by background noise considering the masking effect. The warning sound of an electric vehicle is required by law for the safety of pedestrians. Therefore, the warning sound becomes an additional noise pollution source if it is designed as an annoyance. On the other hand, if the sound is designed with a low sound pressure level, pedestrians will not recognize the approach of vehicle due to background noise. To avoid nose pollution and permit the detectability of an approaching vehicle, a method for evaluating the annoyance and detectability of an electric vehicle is required. In this paper, the whine index evaluating the whine sound masked by the background was developed and used as a sound metric. This metric was employed for the development of an annoyance index and detectability index for electric vehicles.