Comprehensive EV Sound Design project from Marketing Requirements to Series

2025-01-0018

05/05/2023

Authors
Abstract
Content
This paper presents the results of a project to design new comprehensive sound sets for several electric vehicle models having each specific branding expectations. This was achieved thanks to a close collaboration between one major Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer and an acoustic software provider, relying on shared experience, knowledge, and tools to meet the initial requirements set. Firstly, a scenarized journey and brand-related symbolism were defined and served as a basis for creating meaningful sketches of sound design in a cross-team effort (designers, NVH, production, audio system, etc.). Various sound functions were considered for exterior sounds, such as AVAS, and interior sounds, such as ambiance, HMI, and alarms. A special care was dedicated to the so-called Active Sound Design aiming at providing speed and acceleration feedback to the driver, in the absence of a clearly audible engine noise. A listening test was then conducted in order to assess how the proposed designs were perceived, and select the most suited ones. Before definitively integrating these into the final vehicles, a demonstration car with a full 3D sound audio configuration was set up, allowing more realistic and meaningful evaluations. This made it possible, through hours of driving in different conditions, to iteratively refine the sounds, which was necessary to achieve the best quality and match the intended brand image and symbolism.
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Citation
LI, Y., Minard, A., Boussard, P., and Zhang, C., "Comprehensive EV Sound Design project from Marketing Requirements to Series," SAE Technical Paper 2025-01-0018, 2023, .
Additional Details
Publisher
Published
May 5, 2023
Product Code
2025-01-0018
Content Type
Technical Paper
Language
English