Designing an Interior and Exterior Acoustical Brand Identity for Electric Vehicles by Means of Sound Synthesis

The future of the automotive industry is moving towards wider acceptance of the electrification of vehicles. Accompanying this customer acceptance and growth in the EV market are governmental requirements and regulations mandating the use of acoustic warning devices for pedestrian safety. These market and governmental changes provide automotive manufactures the opportunity to design an exterior and interior acoustic impression and experience for both their customers and the general population (potential customers) that experience the vehicles on the road. The use of both interior and exterior sound synthesis and augmentation technology allows automotive companies to design both brand and product identity with more flexibility than ever before. In this study, designed vehicle sounds intended for electric vehicles are evaluated by a panel of listeners from the point of view of both the driver and a passer-by. The impressions of the panel are captured using subjective words that convey an impression or an evoked emotion. Subjective reactions are finally correlated to accepted sound quality metrics and acoustic analysis methods in order to determine objective measures that can be used to predict the evoked brand impression or response.