LEVA-EU member THOR AVAS presented its solution for the audible accompaniment to electric vehicles of the future, at the 2023 edition of Microbility Europe, held in Amsterdam on 8-9 June.

THOR presented its AVAS (Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System) project for micro transport, using electric scooters as an example. At the stand near the main entrance to the exhibition, guests and participants of the show could not only chat with representatives of the company, Alex Nord and Alena Toropchina, but also listen to the sound of the system on an e-scooter, and ride it on a test track.

THOR AVAS is a solution for sound branding and improving the safety of electric vehicles based on the patented principle of sound transmission – both recorded from real engines of cool supercars, and artificially created by THOR AVAS’s team of acoustics and sound engineers. Silent scooters often lead to accidents, and a harmonious sound will help all road users to notice the approach of a high-speed electric scooter, moped or car in advance.

What is the THOR AVAS system?

The main thing is, of course, software. This software allows sounds created by the THOR AVAS sound designers to be played on almost any speaker, reading data from the CAN / UART data bus of the vehicle, and dynamically playing the sound of tracks consisting of several complex layers of audio tracks. Sounds can be recorded (left on the server) or selected through the application.

The patented technology enables not only the reading and expression into sound all the cycles of movement of an electric (initially silent) vehicle, but also makes it possible to notice (hear) it within 5 seconds, regardless of how fast it moves. This is an important aspect that THOR AVAS has achieved through numerous tests in real conditions and in simulated conditions in an anechoic chamber. The system allows you to make the sound quiet and stay within existing noise legislation, while remaining noticeable, and therefore audible to pedestrians and other road users.