(February 22, 2011) PARIS — With two new vehicle sound generators, Delphi Automotive says it can help global vehicle manufacturers warn pedestrians of approaching hybrid and electric vehicles.  Designed to comply with worldwide legislation expected to mandate minimum sound levels for both hybrid and electric vehicles, these environmentally friendly sounders are not only robust, but compact, light weight and low cost. 

The single-box solutions are lead-free, waterproof and temperature resistant.

“Industry analysts predict hybrid and electric vehicle warning sounds, already covered by guidelines in Japan, will be required in North America and Europe in the near future,” said Beth Schwarting, general director, Electronic Controls product business unit at Delphi.  “Our goal is to help customers address market-driven challenges with environmentally friendly and affordable technologies.”

Using expertise gained from decades of vehicle alarm system experience, Delphi has developed two environmentally friendly sound generators — called sounders — that enable pedestrians to detect nearby hybrid and electric vehicles which, without the sound generator, are nearly silent.   

Delphi says its electronic sounder system is approximately three times lighter than a conventional multi-box system and uses 90 percent less power, making it the most environmentally friendly solution available.  Its single-box configuration helps to reduce design, test and manufacturing cost, and its size and weight simplify packaging. 

The system provides a frequency range of 500Hz to 10 KHz and can reproduce melodies that represent the identity of individual vehicle manufacturers.

For applications requiring higher quality sound, Delphi has developed a high-fidelity sounder system that uses a cone speaker activated by a light-weight magnet that extends the base range to 150Hz. The magnet-based system weighs 66 percent less than a conventional speaker system.

Both Delphi systems are robust enough to be mounted in the harsh environment under the vehicle’s hood and incorporate a 32-bit microprocessor with flash memory, a link to the vehicle’s data bus and an audio class-D amplifier.

“Delphi’s sound generators are specifically designed to warn pedestrians of oncoming hybrid and electric vehicles moving at low speed,” said Diedrich von Behr, managing director Electronic Controls Europe.  “Not only do these “green” systems enhance safety by helping to make pedestrians aware of approaching vehicles, they become more valuable when integrated with other vehicle systems.”

Delphi’s first Vehicle Sound Generator will be introduced by a leading European OEM in mid 2012.