Journal Article
Design and Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Sound Using Granular Synthesis
Journal of the Audio Engineering Society · Volume 70 · Issue 4 · pp. 294–304 · April 2022
Abstract
Electric vehicles (EVs) generally do not have the natural engine sound; thus, sound design for such vehicles is more crucial. This study focuses on proposing an EV interior sound design through utilizing the granular synthesis method. Moreover, it aims to investigate the effect of each granular synthesis parameter on the drivers' affective experience. In the model proposed, four granular synthesis parameters (sample source, grain duration, grain envelope, and revolution per minute [RPM] range) with three levels each were selected for synthesis. By combining different values of each sound parameter in an orthogonal array, 27 EV sound samples were generated. A jury test was conducted with 32 participants (20 male, 12 female), which evaluated each sound sample based on three EV-related affective adjectives ("refined," "sporty," and "futuristic") and ratings of overall satisfaction. The results showed that each granular synthesis parameter has a different impact on the perception of EV-related affect and satisfaction. Moreover, it also found that combining different values of each parameter may result in inducing a specific emotion or experience. The EV sound design methodology proposed in this study can contribute to the development of future EV sound to increase its effectiveness in improving the drivers' auditory experience.
