Speaker
Description
As road traffic becomes increasingly electrified, Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) are gaining importance. Their development involves a fundamental trade-off: vulnerable road users must be reliably warned and protected, requiring compliance with legal specifications such as UN R138 and FMVSS 141 regarding frequency range and minimum sound pressure levels. At the same time, noise exposure and unnecessary sound emissions, particularly in urban environments, should be minimized.Today, AVAS are often designed and evaluated only in late development phases using physical prototypes, since precise and computationally efficient simulation of the acoustic transfer path from the loudspeaker membrane to the receiver position is not yet available. Within the SPEAKeR project, Novicos and Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts are developing an efficient full-system simulation for the virtual design of acoustic pedestrian warning systems. The approach enables vehicle-specific AVAS development already in early stages of the product development process.Key methodological elements include near-field effects, acoustic-mechanical feedback of the loudspeaker membrane, and frequency-dependent impedance surfaces for the efficient description of reflection, absorption, and transmission. In addition, segmented transfer paths allow only modified subsections to be recalculated after design changes. The simulation results are integrated into the creative sound design process, so that vehicle-specific transfer behaviour can be considered during auralisation.The methodology will be validated using a Smart AVAS demonstrator with situation-dependent adjustable directivity. Unlike conventional multi-loudspeaker concepts, targeted sound guidance will be realized with a single loudspeaker system. The SPEAKeR project combines improved local detectability, regulatory compliance, and reduced overall noise emissions, contributing to quieter, safe, and accepted electric mobility.