With the Tesla Model S earning Car of the Year nods from several leading auto publication, and the company’s subsequent increase in sales and government incentives to push alternative fuels, the impact that silence of electric vehicles has on pedestrians is being considered by a number of car manufacturers. For example, Audi has a sound generation system outside their electric version of the R8. See this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yungwc92gFo

Should these kinds of sounds, artificially generated on the outside of electric (or other silent) vehicles be made to sound like a traditional gasoline engine and exhaust, or should there be some sort of iconic, industry-wide sound developed similar to the chirping sound currently used to assist the sight-impaired at crosswalks? Should sound generation only be done when proximity to collision is detected via peer-to-peer communication with other connected devices, or should it be in an “always on” state? This decision could have a profound impact on how humans perceive silent or near-silent approaching vehicles in the future.