title: Impact of adding artificially generated alert sound to hybrid electric vehicles on their detectability by pedestrians who are blind.
abstract: A repeated-measures design with block randomization was used for the study, in which 14 adults with visual impairments attempted to detect three different vehicles: a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) with an artificially generated sound (Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians [VSP]), an HEV without the VSP, and a comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. The VSP vehicle (mean +/- standard deviation [SD] = 38.3 +/- 14.8 m) was detected at a significantly farther distance than the HEV (mean +/- SD = 27.5 +/- 11.5 m), t = 4.823, p < 0.001, but no significant difference existed between the VSP and ICE vehicles (mean +/- SD = 34.5 +/- 14.3 m), t = 1.787, p = 0.10. Despite the overall sound level difference between the two test sites (parking lot = 48.7 dBA, roadway = 55.1 dBA), no significant difference in detection distance between the test sites was observed, F(1, 13) = 0.025, p = 0.88. No significant interaction was found between the vehicle type and test site, F(1.31, 16.98) = 0.272, p = 0.67. The findings of the study may help us understand how adding an artificially generated sound to an HEV could affect some of the orientation and mobility tasks performed by blind pedestrians.
authors: Western Michigan University, Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies, 1903 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5218, USA. dae.kim@wmich.edu
authors: Dae Shik
authors: DS
authors: Kim
authors: Robert Wall
authors: RW
authors: Emerson
authors: Koorosh
authors: K
authors: Naghshineh
authors: Jay
authors: J
authors: Pliskow
authors: Kyle
authors: K
authors: Myers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001766:Blindness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003463:Cues; D004560:Electricity; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D009622:Noise; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities; D055815:Young Adult