Nissan, Renault, PSA-Citroen and others have teamed together to create an audible pedestrian alert system for electric vehicles in a European Commission-led project.
Known as Evader, the system produces audible cues to alert pedestrians and other road users to the presence of an electric vehicle, while having minimal impact on noise pollution levels.
The project took three years to complete, during which the consortium members worked to ensure the sound created was audible, while having a low impact on ambient noise levels.
The sound created had to be directionally beamed at targeted users, while not being annoying at the same time.
Sirens were ruled out at an early stage by the consortium members, as they proved to be irritating and loud, Nissan said.
The final version of the system features a camera built into the windscreen, which is programmed to recognise pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.
When a road user is detected, six loudspeakers beam sound at the target to alert them to the presence of the EV. According to the consortium members, the sound is five decibels lower than the sound of a conventional petrol or diesel engine.
The research and results collated from this project form a reference material for future research into this area, and it is likely that it will be utilised to shape future EU legislation on EV pedestrian alert sounds, the European Commission said.
“Pedestrian safety is of the utmost importance to Nissan, which is why we already have a pedestrian alert installed in our EVs as a preventative measure,” said David Quinn, Nissan’s Evader project leader. “We were keen to use our considerable experience to examine possible systems for future development in this field.”
“Our objective has been to find an optimum balance between ensuring the cars are detectable, whilst retaining the reduction in noise pollution,” said Quinn.
Evader consortium members:
Applus Idiada
Szm, TU Darmstadt
Siemenns Industry Software
Austrian Institute of Technology AIT
TNO
INSA Lyon
Nissan
Renault
PSA Peugeot Citro?n
Continental Automotive France
European Blind Union (EBU)
