Hella Develops Acoustic Warning System for Electric Vehicles

Leading lighting and electronics company, Hella has announced that it has developed an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) for use in electric and hybrid vehicles. The system would replicate the noise of an internal combustion engine and would alert pedestrians and other road users about the approach of such vehicles. This would go a long way towards making roads safer for everyone.

It has now become an accepted fact that supplies of petroleum would run out in the next half century and electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles would become a more common sight on the roads globally. A few countries like Norway are witnessing higher sales of electric vehicles than of conventional vehicles and this trend will soon become the norm rather than the exception.

With electric vehicles offering many advantages like being more environment-friendly and climate change becoming a more controversial issue, the general public has become more inclined to accept the transition to the age of electric vehicles. One main concern about their use was that they do not create any noise and the possibility of accidents increases as they are silent. This concern has now been resolved with Hella’s new technology.

Many people hear vehicles before they see them coming and even if you are distracted by everything that is visible around you, the sound of a powerful engine can alert you about oncoming traffic.

From July 2019, it has become mandatory for all electric and hybrid vehicles that are sold in the European Union to be fitted with AVAS. The US and China have implemented similar rules. Hella’s AVAS system is quite likely to soon end up as standard fitment on most electric vehicles. According to the company, its AVAS imparts a sound that is similar to a conventional internal combustion engine to an electrified vehicle. This allows other road users to learn about the approach of these vehicles and to be alert.

The Hella AVAS is active at speeds from 0-20km/h. The intensity of the sound produced by the system increases with the speed and it reduces to zero once the speed crosses 20 km/hr as the noise created by the tires is adequate to alert other road users about the approach of these vehicles. Hella’s new technology is suitable for us in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and buses. A standard sound is stored in the compact sensor and can be adopted. Customer-specific driving noises can also be developed on request.