| Researchers
have subjected volunteers to the sounds of
cockerels, bells, babies crying and footsteps
to find out how people perceive urgency and
pleasantness.
The two-year EPSRC-funded project aims to
find the most appropriate sounds – such
as those of screeching tyres or car horns
– to warn drivers of hazards on the
road.
Researchers
from the school of psychology are helping
car manufacturers come up with the best ‘audible
icons’ to convey alerts to drivers by
discovering the appropriateness of different
sounds.
In their tests the most unpleasant sound was
found to be a horn blast and the least unpleasant
the sea. The most urgent was an electronic
warning pulse and least urgent the sound of
a house martin singing. Highly urgent sounds
were also judged least pleasant.
Car
manufacturers are interested in the use of
‘realistic’ sounds as alerts because
they cut reaction times and increase drivers’
awareness of what is going on around them.
Sounds
do not interfere with the visual aspects of
driving the car and reaction time is cut if
meaningful sounds are made to indicate a specific
hazard rather than simply indicating that
something is amiss.
Over the next year Leeds researchers aim to
find out exactly which types of sounds are
most suitable as audible icons in cars using
the University’s advanced driving simulator.
The research is necessary to ensure that a
sound is perceived as having a meaning but
is not so annoying that car users disable
it.
Dr Denis McKeown, who is leading the project,
said the use of audible icons would be particularly
useful for collision detection systems being
developed by car makers. These use sensors
to measure the speed and distance of a vehicle
from the car in front and regulate braking
so the two do not collide.
He
said: “Audible icons may produce significantly
faster response times than tone or speech
warnings but we have to find out which ones
convey the right degree of urgency and a commonly-understood
meaning. While using such ‘realistic’
sounds as alarms conveys more meaning there
is a possibility people can respond incorrectly
and not take enough time to assess the road
situation themselves.”
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