The chimes and beeps made by your Ford aren’t random. In fact, there is a huge body of research and science that goes into the frequency, tonality, volume, and cadence of each. There is an entire group within the company that operates under the name “Vehicle Harmony.” And when you hear the harmonious alerts, you will understand why.
One of the women behind these alerts is Jennifer Prescott, an engineer in the Vehicle Harmony group. She helps define how various Ford vehicle features communicate with customers in the form of an audio alert. She observes that in a world with more and more notifications from our smartphones, chimes from our vehicle need to cut through the clutter.
“Our inclination has been to add more sounds for more alerts, but people are getting chimed out,” Prescott said. “Because of that, our audio alerts must be intuitive – instantly recognized by drivers.”
The audio design process
Sean DeGennaro, an engineer in the same Vehicle Harmony group, says that there are two primary classes of chimes that interact with drivers: chimes that admonish and chimes that collaborate. For example, the available collision warning with brake support system needs a chime to encourage a driver to change course, admonishing the driver into taking action. However, SYNC, which is available on many Ford vehicles, needs a chime that notifies the driver it is ready to receive its next command, collaborating with the driver.
Whether to admonish or to collaborate, the chimes are all based on an initial set of sounds that were composed to “capture the spirit of Ford,” according to DeGennaro.
A sound for every occasion
In total, there are about 30 sounds that make up the Ford audible palette, each designed to send their own message to drivers when they need it. This is even more important when it comes to the audible sounds that alert us of driving conditions. Each alert has been designed to match the intensity of each vehicle feature. For example, the turn-signal indicator is a gentle tick-tock, while the collision warning chime is much more abrupt to give a sense of urgency to the driver.
To give you a tour of some of these sounds, we have developed a sampling of the tocks, pings, beeps and chimes in your Ford. Click on the speaker icons on the Ford vehicle below to hear the mellifluous – and sometimes cacophonous – compositions of the Vehicle Harmony team.