Renzo Vitale: What should electric cars sound like?
Renzo Vitale: ¿Cómo deberían sonar los autos eléctricos?
Renzo Vitale explores the narrative between music, science and human perception -- envisioning sonic spaces for music to evolve, for cities to sing, for people to transcend. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
precious conditions for humans,
más valiosas para los humanos
the depth of our presence.
de nuestra presencia.
la aparición de los autos eléctricos
why the advent of electric cars
of enthusiasm among people.
entusiasmo entre la gente.
the concept of cars
asociar el concepto de auto
puede ser un problema.
when it comes to cars,
en relación con los autos
que se aproxima.
they can't even hear it.
ni siquiera lo pueden oír.
as we are walking around the city,
al caminar por la ciudad,
and we detach from the surroundings.
y desconectados de lo que nos rodea.
our precious companion.
convertirse en un compañero valioso.
wonderful gifts of our universe.
más maravillosos de nuestro universo.
sound is also information.
el sonido también es información.
feedback to the drivers,
a los conductores
have introduced several regulations
han introducido varias regulaciones
for electric vehicles.
para los vehículos eléctricos.
minimum sound levels
mínimos de sonido
is considered as sufficient.
se considera suficiente.
have generated different reactions
reacciones diferentes
and those who fear the presence
y los que temen la presencia
as the noise of the car.
como el ruido del auto.
and privileges, at the same time.
y privilegios al mismo tiempo.
engine sounds like,
un motor a combustión
how an electric engine sounds like.
un motor eléctrico.
high-frequency pitch sound,
de alta frecuencia
just amplify this sound,
amplificáramos este sonido
the legal requirements.
con los requisitos legales.
to compose new sound.
un sonido nuevo.
is already very chaotic,
de por sí muy caótico
are a great case study
son un gran caso de estudio
cross purposes and disarray.
objetivos contrapuestos y desorden.
offers a great opportunity
una gran oportunidad
on how to reduce this chaos.
sobre cómo reducir este caos.
that tries to reduce the chaos
que intenta reducir el caos
how an electric car could sound like,
cómo podría sonar un auto eléctrico
a new sound world,
un nuevo mundo sonoro,
to our previous experience
a nuestra experiencia previa
para el futuro.
we create lots of sonic textures
creamos muchas texturas sonoras
feelings and frequencies
sentimientos y frecuencias
nos acerquemos a un auto
the legal requirements,
los requisitos legales,
and the identity of the car.
y la identidad del auto.
"genética de sonido".
first of all, an aesthetic space of sound,
primero, un espacio de sonido estético,
I search for new, innovative methods
nuevos e innovadores
that we don't know,
que no conocemos,
to envision abstract worlds,
visualizar palabras abstractas,
se basa en tres pasos.
of a sonic organism,
de un organismo sonoro,
of sonic variations,
de las variaciones sonoras
is the composition of sound genes.
de genes de sonido.
is based on a cluster of properties
se basa en un grupo de propiedades
that I compose should have.
debería tener.
such as the sound of a car,
de sonido, como el sonido de un auto,
en el escenario,
of sound in the air.
de sonido en el aire.
the sound of a car.
coming back home.
regresando a casa.
una sensación inesperada de asombro,
an unexpected sense of wonder,
la condición humana,
we define the sonic variations.
las variaciones sonoras.
generate different voices,
diferentes generan voces diferentes,
have a different acoustic behavior
un comportamiento acústico diferente
the geometry and the materials.
y los materiales.
how this car propagates the sound outside
este auto propaga el sonido hacia afuera
to produce different tones and timbres,
producir tonos y timbres diferentes,
different sonic variations
diferentes variaciones sonoras
of eight words that I defined.
ocho expresiones que he definido.
to me, really important,
muy importantes para mí,
of "dynamic," of "embracing."
de "universal".
these two aspects,
estos dos aspectos,
el prisma de identidad,
the sonic identity card of a car.
sonora de un auto.
we enter the world of the sound design,
el mundo del diseño de sonido,
a sound field into a melody.
sonoro en una melodía.
en el escenario.
which would propagate in this hall,
que se propagaría en esta sala
would hit the side walls
sonoro golpearía las paredes laterales
several ways of sound to hit side walls.
el sonido golpea las paredes laterales.
by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
de la Radio de Baviera me pidió
that they were going to play.
que iban a tocar.
to start from this sound field.
de empezar por este campo sonoro.
over the distribution
sobre la distribución
the blooming of the sound field
del campo sonoro
for each instrument,
para cada instrumento
the string section playing very softly,
de cuerdas tocando muy suavemente,
as the brasses, the woods will jump in,
los instrumentos de metal y de madera
with a harp and a piano
con un arpa y un piano
actually, in the morning.
despertador por la mañana.
that I showed you.
que les mostré.
how a potential sound,
podría sonar un sonido potencial,
for electric cars, could sound like.
para autos eléctricos.
distance and journey,
de tiempo, distancia y viaje,
of intelligence and complexity,
de inteligencia y complejidad,
performative art installations.
altamente complejas.
through sound genetics
a través de la genética de sonido
to celebrate this complexity
celebrar esta complejidad
a more elegant and safe space.
sea un espacio más elegante y seguro.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Renzo Vitale - Sound geneticist, musician, acoustic engineerRenzo Vitale explores the narrative between music, science and human perception -- envisioning sonic spaces for music to evolve, for cities to sing, for people to transcend.
Why you should listen
Renzo Vitale is an Italian pianist, composer, sound designer, acoustic engineer and artist. His creative process involves an interrogation of the relation between music, science and human perception.
As a musician, Vitale has composed a wide spectrum of works ranging from dance theater to performative installation pieces and virtual reality experiences. His solo works focus on vulnerable states of human condition, such as the sublimity of emotional gravities and the irrational nature of disorders. As a scientist, his research encompasses architectural acoustics, psychoacoustics, vehicle acoustics and music communication.
Vitale holds a PhD in Acoustics from RWTH Aachen University, two master's degrees in electronic engineering and in piano performance as well as further studies in electronic music, composition and conducting. Previously he has been a research scholar at the Institute of Technical Acoustics in Aachen, Pratt Institute in New York and KTH in Stockholm.
In 2015, Vitale joined the Research and Innovation Center of BMW Group as a Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) engineer. Since 2017 he designs the sounds of electric vehicles. He conceived a new generation of sounds through a novel approach that he calls "sound genetics," which defines the aesthetic space of sounds in order to generate soundscapes to enable us to envision abstract worlds and make them tangible and audible.
Renzo Vitale | Speaker | TED.com