Lucid Motors is preparing for the release of its first electric vehicle, the Lucid Air sedan, and at SXSW, the company unveiled a unique detail of the upcoming car: it is the first car to offer Dolby Atmos sound, thanks to the 21 speaker “Surreal Sound” system.
In a video of more than four minutes outlining the new sound setup, the company highlights its ability to not only adjust the placement of sound in the vehicle on a horizontal plane (i.e., to move between the left and right sides of the car or to move from the front). at the rear) but also vertically – so that music or surrounding cars signals can be targeted higher or lower in the car.
“It was very obvious to us that Lucid wanted to do something different and try to do something unique to the driving experience,” said Tim Pryde, director of music at Dolby.
And as strange as the idea of the atmosphere of Atmos in the car may sound, a car is actually a pretty good environment for an Atmos setup, given the controlled, encapsulated space that is relatively easy to ensure the speaker coverage for Dolby’s spatial sound system. While it’s not always easy to mount speakers in your ceiling (or to make rear surrounds) in your living room, a car – especially one with 21 speakers – is designed to integrate the system from the start, natural. .
In addition to music, Lucid also uses its Atmos setup for indicators and alarm sounds – for example, if a passenger in the back seat does not wear their seat belt, the seat belt bell will be specifically aimed at the passenger corner of the car.
Lucid is also not the only big car company looking at big audio partnerships. Audi recently announced that it will partner with Sonos on its upcoming Q4 E-Tron, with more details on the partnership to be announced in April.