[HN Gopher] Ford Confronts Strange, Ear-Piercing Static in F-150...
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       Ford Confronts Strange, Ear-Piercing Static in F-150 Trucks
        
       Author : bookofjoe
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2023-08-26 17:48 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.wsj.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.wsj.com)
        
       | RicoElectrico wrote:
       | Interesting, before delving into the article I thought maybe
       | that's a malfunction of a system in which static is played to
       | induce acoustic reflex if a crash is imminent, to protect
       | passengers' hearing. Alas, it's just an amplifier issue.
        
         | jeffbee wrote:
         | I went into the article with the same expectation. Is there a
         | manufacturer other than Mercedes that has that feature?
        
           | tpmx wrote:
           | Huh, TIL:
           | 
           | https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/passengercars/mercedes-
           | benz-...
           | 
           |  _The PRE-SAFE(r) system makes use of the time prior to an
           | impending accident on your behalf. A host of measures are
           | able to reduce the loads generated as a result. The
           | innovative PRE-SAFE(r) Sound system generates a sound from
           | the speakers and is thus able to trigger a protective reflex
           | in our bodies: our hearing briefly disengages to protect
           | itself from loud crash sounds._
           | 
           | Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SfZ0pEL2Sk
           | 
           | (I wonder what evidence they have of this actually doing what
           | they claim.)
        
             | throw0101b wrote:
             | > _When presented with an intense sound stimulus, the
             | stapedius and tensor tympani muscles of the ossicles
             | contract.[7] The stapedius stiffens the ossicular chain by
             | pulling the stapes (stirrup) of the middle ear away from
             | the oval window of the cochlea and the tensor tympani
             | muscle stiffens the ossicular chain by loading the tympanic
             | membrane when it pulls the malleus (hammer) in toward the
             | middle ear. The reflex decreases the transmission of
             | vibrational energy to the cochlea, where it is converted
             | into electrical impulses to be processed by the brain._
             | 
             | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_reflex
        
             | cdot2 wrote:
             | How would you test that?
        
               | tpmx wrote:
               | By testing the hearing of people after accidents with and
               | without this system.
               | 
               | I guess you could also do testing on people who buy
               | vehicles with and without this system - before any
               | accidents.
        
       | joezydeco wrote:
       | What is a crashed audio codec chip?
       | 
       | Thanks, Alex. I'll take Linux Audio Sucks for $400.
        
       | bookofjoe wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/5yAtu
        
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       (page generated 2023-08-26 23:02 UTC)