Where’s that bike? Sounds and metrics for a smart bicycle bell

Abstract

A bicycle bell is an important safety add-on and is used by the vast majority of bicycle users. Traditional bicycle bells make a single sound based on the construction of the bell, ranging from the gentle ring of a bell to the honk of a horn. A new wave of digital bell is now appearing which can make a range of sounds. One of the challenges of a digital bell is the issue as to what sorts of sounds should be made, how they will be responded to, and whether they are perceived as suitable for use in a digital bell. In this paper we present a study on the localizability of a set of digital bicycle bells, and how they are perceived along a range of relevant perceptual and aesthetic dimensions.