You're stuck in the middle of an intersection, and you hear it, just above the thumping bass cannon of the loser next to you; Waaaaahh.... BEEEEP... HONK.... a fire truck is coming, but from which direction? You can't see anything yet, but it's definitely getting louder. Should you stay put? Should you attempt to get to the side? Clear the intersection? Where's he coming from? The opposite direction? Is it on some other street?
These sirens broadcast the emergency vehicle's direction of travel to the world in simple terms.-- RayfordSteele, Oct 08 2004 Would it suffice to be able to identify their actual location? http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/447/s2.htm"...pioneering ?localizer? technology, enabling the ear to locate accurately the direction from which sounds are coming, has a vast number of applications, including directional sirens for emergency vehicles..." [half, Oct 08 2004] Oh crap, oh crap. Ok stay calm, let's see, never, eat, soggy, wieners.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 08 2004 "It's behind you"-- neilp, Oct 08 2004 AAAHHHHHH!!!-- Machiavelli, Oct 08 2004 I like it!
(Except that, just like 2fries, I'm hopeless at N/S/E/W. "OK, so the sun's there and it's three o'clock. That means the truck must be over that way. No, wait, HEADING north means it must be south of here so it.... AHHHH!")-- not_only_but_also, Oct 08 2004 random, halfbakery