Lucid Motors is preparing for the launch of its first electric vehicle, the Lucid Air sedan, and in the SXSW, the company revealed a unique detail of the next car: it will be the first car to offer Dolby Atmos sound, thanks to its “Surreal Sound System ”With 21 speakers.
In a video of more than four minutes detailing the new sound configuration, the company highlights its ability to not only adjust the placement of the sound on the vehicle in a horizontal plane (that is, alternating between the left and right sides of the car or the front backwards), but also vertically – allowing music or signals from the car’s environment to be directed up or down inside the car.
“It was very obvious to us that Lucid was trying to do something different and trying to do something that was unique to the automotive experience,” said Tim Pryde, Dolby’s music director.
And as strange as the idea of an automotive Atmos seems, a car is actually a very good environment for an Atmos configuration, given the controlled and encapsulated space that is relatively easy to ensure that it has full speaker coverage for the system. of Dolby space sound. While it is not always easy to mount speakers on the ceiling (or increase the surround back sound) in your living room, a car – especially one with 21 speakers – that was designed to integrate into the system from the start is a natural fit .
In addition to music, Lucid is also using its Atmos setting for warning indicators and sounds – for example, if a passenger in the rear seat is not wearing a seat belt, the seat belt chime will target the passenger corner of the car specifically.
Lucid is also not the only major automaker to pursue major audio partnerships. Audi recently announced that it would partner with Sonos in its next Q4 E-Tron, with more details on this partnership scheduled to be revealed in April.