Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
 |
Comments on Electric Cars To Make Noise By Law?
A quarter-century ago, an SF writer thought that it might be cool to give silent cars real engine sounds. Now, you might be forced to - and no way to turn it off. (Read
the complete story)
| "This is still crazy. Noisy bicycles are next!" ('attention blind people!' 'attention blind people! 5/13/2009 5:19:56 PM) |
| "Of all the silly internet sites that have comment sections, the one site that SHOULD DEFINITELY have a comment section on every damn page ... is thomas.loc.gov." (an' another thing! 5/13/2009 5:22:24 PM) |
| "I volunteered at a blind center for awhile, and I can tell you that requiring that electric cars make *some* kind of noise is not a crazy idea at all. But the noise doesn't have to be obnoxious - chirping birds, harp music, cat meows - would all work, just as long as it was recognizable as a potiential hazard. A monotone hum would be useful because then blind peeps can use the doppler effect to help figure out a car's distance and speed.
" (Moondragon 5/14/2009 5:19:58 PM) |
| "Just one more tidbit that may (or may not) interest you: When I drive a stick shift, I don't use a tachometer to know when to shift gears, I listen for the engine sound to reach a certain pitch. I learned it by observing my mom drive when I was a kid.
" (Moondragon 5/14/2009 5:33:46 PM) |
| "Will you require the same noise on bicycles, or not?" (still crazy 5/15/2009 12:50:46 AM) |
| "Just to add another element to the discussion, consider that only a portion of the noise from a car comes from the engine. There is a pretty good article on Wikipedia about 'Roadway Noise.' Here's a small bit:
'Roadway surface types contribute differential noise effects of up to 4 dB, with chip seal type and grooved roads being the loudest and concrete surfaces without spacers being the quietest. Asphaltic surfaces are about average. Tire types had considerable design changes in the 1970s, and at this juncture are probably optimized for noise control, given the of safety needs for a significant grip by the tread. Roadway geometrics and surrounding terrain are interrelated, since the propagation of sound is sensitive to the overall geometry...' It's interesting to note that tires were redesigned for less noise, and no advocates for the disabled argued about that (or did they?). Anyway, read more about Roadway Noise." (Bill Christensen 5/15/2009 5:10:49 PM) |
| "Moondragon - thanks for taking the side you did, even though the majority (as far as I can tell for this article and a previous one), think that adding noise to cars is crazy. I'd like to know if there are any usable statistics on quiet hybrids and accidents; there are a million Prius now on the roads." (Bill Christensen 5/15/2009 5:16:37 PM) |
| "If my electric car has to make noise, I want it to sound like George Jetson's flying car." (Indiana Joe 5/16/2009 12:20:42 PM) |
| "Amen. See more suggestions on what an electric car should sound like from me (and have access to the Jetson's car sound), and more suggestions on electric car noise from readers." (Bill Christensen 5/16/2009 1:02:43 PM) |
Get more information on Electric Cars To Make Noise By Law?
Leave a comment:
Tediously, spammers have returned; if you have a comment, send it to bill at this site (include the story name) and I'll post it.
More Articles
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
Harvest Power From Tears And Blinking With Smart Contact Lens
'...he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it.'
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.'
AI Enhances Images Your Brain Sees
'I could have sworn the psychomat showed pictures almost as sharp and detailed as reality itself'
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'
DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers
'I made them... with the fine work of the watchmaker...'
Cheap Drunk Driver Detection From UofM
"Look, I can drive... Start, darn it!"
Can A Human Land A SpaceX Rocket On Its Tail?
'If she starts to roll sideways — blooey! The underjets only hold you up when they’re pointing down, you know.'
Robot Snakes No Longer Stopped By Stairs
'...she dropped her hands from the wheel, took the robot snake from his box.'
Has Turkey Been Stealing Rain From Iran?
Can one country take another's rain?
