Using external sounds to alert vehicle occupants of external events and mask in-car conversations

A method for processing ambient sounds external to a vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving one or more signals representing the ambient sounds;
• processing the ambient sounds to identify a plurality of events corresponding to a plurality of sounds within the ambient sounds;
• assigning a weight to each of the events based on predefined criteria;
• selecting one or more of the sounds to output to an occupant in the vehicle based on the weights assigned to each event;
• modifying at least one auditory characteristic of the one or more sounds to enhance the ability of an occupant in the vehicle to identify the event associated with the one or more sounds;
• and
• outputting the modified sound via a speaker in an interior of the vehicle.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure the processor to perform the steps of:

• sensing, via an audio detector, ambient sounds external to a vehicle;
• receiving one or more signals representing the ambient sounds from the audio detector;
• processing the ambient sounds to identify an event external to the vehicle and corresponding to at least one sound within the ambient sounds, wherein the at least one sound is generated by the event;
• and
• based on determining that a current speed of the vehicle is above a threshold speed, outputting the at least one sound via a speaker configured to output sound into an interior of the vehicle, or
• based on determining that the current speed is below the threshold speed, outputting a spoken description of the event via the speaker.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure the processor to process ambient sounds external to a vehicle by performing the steps of:

• receiving one or more signals representing the ambient sounds;
• processing the ambient sounds to identify a plurality of events corresponding to a plurality of sounds within the ambient sounds;
• assigning a weight to each of the events based on predefined criteria;
• selecting one or more of the sounds to output to an occupant in the vehicle based on the weights assigned to each event;
• modifying at least one auditory characteristic of the one or more sounds to enhance the ability of an occupant in the vehicle to identify the event associated with the one or more sounds;
• and
• outputting the modified sound via a speaker in an interior of the vehicle.