I’ve been following the discussion about Tesla’s Cybercab and the questions around safety reporting, and it got me wondering about something more basic: how do autonomous vehicles handle horn and alert sounds? I don’t own a train horn setup yet, but I’m interested in how sound-based signaling works when there’s no driver in the seat. For a robotaxi, would an external horn even make sense, or would it be handled through lights and sensors instead? I’m also curious whether regulators treat audible warnings differently for autonomous vehicles compared to regular cars. I have no inside knowledge here, just interested from a hobby perspective. For those of you who’ve built or installed horn systems, do you think autonomous platforms will keep traditional horns at all, or is this the beginning of the end for them? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Update after reading more on this - Tesla seeks to keep Cybercab safety answers secret touches on the reporting side, though it doesn’t really settle how audible warnings would work without a driver. I’m still unsure whether regulators would keep traditional horns mandatory for robotaxis or lean on lights and sensors instead.