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Soundwith develops 'Warning Sound 2.0' alarm for more rapid response to industrial dangers

Published: 25 Apr. 2025, 18:05

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Logo for Soundwith [SOUNDWITH]

Violinist Won Hyung-joon, CEO of Soundwith, has developed a warning sound that effectively prompts human cognitive response, ultimately fostering a safer working environment, the sound research company said Friday.

The sound, called “Warning Sound 2.0” in Korean, is expected to be used as precautionary measures in industrial environments.

The sound is now copyrighted under the Korea Copyright Commission.

“The conventional, repetitive warning sounds were not effective in recognizing actual risks,” CEO Won said in a press release. “We’ve designed a new alert system that’s based on human auditory cognition, attention span, emotional response and brainwave activity, which is capable in eliciting an immediate reaction upon hearing.”

Warning Sound 2.0 was developed for three years starting in 2021, with cooperation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During the process, Won discovered a specific frequency that effectively stimulated the inferior colliculus, the nucleus responsible for controlling the human auditory system, which was later confirmed by the neuroscience institute at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.

Clinical tests proved that sounds based on that frequency prompted a shorter human response time by 28 percent, or 4.04 seconds, than when compared to other warning sounds. The sound was demonstrated to be useful in reducing the risk of accidents even in noisy construction sites as it was not reliant on decibel levels.

Warning 2.0 incorporated the frequency into well-known melodies from the world of classical music, taking into consideration that workers may experience stress easily when being frequently exposed to conventional repetitive warning alarms.

Soundwith anticipates that the new sound will be used in high-risk industrial sites such as aviation, railways, healthcare and smart factories, as well as safety systems including autonomous vehicles and smart city infrastructure.

According to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, there were 589 reported deaths from industrial accidents in 2024. Forklift-related accidents were notably serious as there was an average of 30 deaths per year and 5,769 in total over the past five years.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]