If, on the one hand, noise from streets and highways can bother most of us, there is, on the other hand, a greater dilemma among auto makers these days: the silence of electric cars. So much so, that the Japanese have scheduled to launch next week a unique sound device to alert pedestrians.



The new equipment (exclusive from Prius, a hybrid which also operates on an electric motor) emits a sound when it reaches a speed higher than 25km/h. The purpose of the sound is to “alert and not bother” by using a Doppler effect (which alternates the sound according to the distance and the velocity) so as to give a better idea of the movement and the speed, according to the maker.



However, the device costs abound R$ 265 and not only is it optional, it can also be turned off, as seen in the above video (although it’s in Japanese, you can get an idea of how the system works).

We’ve already talked about this before, showing you how the noise can be important not only to the visually impaired, but also to regular pedestrians. It’s not always possible for an inattentive pedestrian to have enough time to react when crossing the street!

This idea was also implemented on the Lightning GT with a system that uses a 300 W speaker, an amplifier, an accelerator sensor and controls. Anyway, it’s necessary to have an alerting sound, and we need to know how to play with this idea.

The former Japanese race car driver, Yoshio Takaoka, in collaboration with the Italian Laboratories Start, has implemented the sound of horse shoes in The Girasole concept car. That’s right, the sound of galloping horses!



The vehicle itself is an US$ 18 thousand electric car (about R$ 32 million) with no great innovations, which can go up to a speed of 120Km with only one charge. However, the galloping sound can give the wrong impression: that we’ve gone back to the beginning of the last century.