At the 37th ICTCT Conference (International Cooperation on Theories and Concepts in Traffic Safety) on October 23–24, 2025, in Berlin, we presented the initial findings from the SOUNDWARN project. The presentation focused on the findings of a VR-based perception study in which cyclists, pedestrians, and residents experienced and evaluated directional acoustic warning signals at a modeled urban intersection. The results show that directional beamforming warning signals are fundamentally suitable for specifically addressing cyclists at risk while minimizing the disruptive effect on non-targeted groups. Certain acoustic warnings were particularly clearly recognized as warnings by cyclists and were most strongly associated with potential behavioral adjustments. Other signals tended to be perceived as significantly less disruptive outside the risk area. In the future, the acoustic design of the warning signals will be further refined and strategies for their use in real intersection situations will be developed.

The SOUNDWARN project was funded as part of the mFUND program. Further information on the project can be found in the BMV project profile.