Back to the future: Innovativeness in sound design for electrified vehicles

With powertrain electrification, the character of a vehicle's soundscape significantly changes. Not only does it become quieter, but also the so far dominating combustion engine broadband noise, which shaped people's expectations, disappears. With the upcoming technology, we are empowered to create soundscapes with novel frequency spectra and sound design approaches. Vehicle soundscapes are dynamic by nature due to load and speed changes, and the driving situation. In this study, different active sound design concepts for electrified vehicles (EVs) have been assessed by N = 83 participants concerning their conveyed impressions of Perceived Innovativeness, Liking, and further relevant dimensions. The sound design concepts are varied in their general sound character and level of innovativeness and then presented in a listening laboratory. By employing the Repeated Evaluation Technique (RET) in the context of sound design research, we gather insightful data about dynamic effects in the perception of innovative acoustic textures in the context of active EV sound design. The findings of this study reveal dynamic effects in novelty perception and aesthetic preference, as well as insights into the semantics specific design characteristics convey. This can be helpful in shaping the character of a vehicle, making predictions about long-term appreciation of novel driving sound concepts, and assisting sound engineers and designers in creating innovative yet appreciated sound designs for EVs.