A new system has been designed to allow electric vehicles to emit noises which could prevent pedestrians from being hit and increase safety.
The Electric Vehicle Alert for Detection and Emergency Response system, known as eVADER, has been developed as a collaboration between Peugeot, Citroen, Renault and Nissan.
Using a camera built into the windscreen which can recognise potential hazards like pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles, eVADER uses six speaks to emit a low-level sound.
Around five decibels lower than the noise generated by conventional engines, the sound warns people around the car of its presence to help them spot it and avoid walking in front of it.
Project leader David Quinn said: “Our objective has been to find an optimum balance between ensuring the cars are detectable, whilst retaining the reduction in noise pollution, which is one of the great benefits that our EVs offer.”
eVADER was developed partly in response to studies which found that electric vehicles were twice as likely to be involved in a low-speed accident with a pedestrian compared to conventional cars.
The result of three years’ worth of study on behalf of the manufacturers, a prototype version was rolled out on a Nissan LEAF last December, and it’s expected to debut soon on production vehicles.
Electric vehicle manufacturers will have to fit the eVADER system, or a similar alternative, to their products by 2019, when EU legislation forces electric vehicles to emit some sort of noise.
