Category: Wheel Motor

Posted on

Chevrolet-FNR autonomous EV concept

Chevrolet has created a vision of what it thinks a full autonomous all-electric vehicle of the future might look like.

Created by GM’s Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center the Chevrolet-FNR is an autonomous electric concept vehicle that boasts a futuristic capsule design. It has crystal laser headlights and taillights, dragonfly dual swing doors.

The Chevrolet-FNR features an extremely aero design focused on low drag powered by AWD magnetic hubless electric wheel motors along with autonomous wireless charging. A laundry list of imaginary specification like range and power output has been provided.

The Chevrolet-FNR is loaded with a range of sensors like roof-mounted radar that can map out the environment to enable driverless operation, Chevy Intelligent Assistant and iris recognition start. The Chevrolet-FNR can also serve as a “personal assistant” to map out the best route to the driver’s preferred destination.

In self-driving mode, the vehicle's front seats can swivel 180 degrees to face the rear seats, creating a more intimate setting. The driver can switch to manual mode through the gesture control feature.

Posted on

NASA’s new Wheel Motor AWD Electric Robotic Car [VIDEO]

The Modular Robotic Vehicle, or MRV, was developed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in order to advance technologies that have applications for future vehicles both in space and on Earth. With seating for two people, MRV is a fully electric vehicle well-suited for busy urban environments.

One of NASA’s key purposes for the project was to have access to a technology development platform. “This work allowed us to develop some technologies we felt were needed for our future rovers,” said Justin Ridley, Johnson Space Flight Center. “These include redundant by-wire systems, liquid cooling, motor technology, advanced vehicle control algorithms. We were able to learn a lot about these and other technologies by building this vehicle.”

Just as NASA helped pioneer fly-by-wire technology in aircraft in the 1970s, MRV is an attempt to bring that technology to the ground in modern automobiles. With no mechanical linkages to the propulsion, steering, or brake actuators, the driver of an MRV relies completely on control inputs being converted to electrical signals and then transmitted by wires to the vehicle’s motors. A turn of the steering wheel, for instance, is recorded by sensors and sent to computers at the rear of the vehicle. These computers interpret that signal and instruct motors at one or all four of the wheels to move at the appropriate rate, causing the vehicle to turn as commanded. Due to a force feedback system in the steering wheel, the driver feels the same resistance and sensations as a typical automobile.

Not having a mechanical linkage between the driver and the steering wheel introduces new risks not seen on conventional automobiles. A failed computer, or cut wire, could cause a loss of steering and the driver to lose control. Because of this, a fully redundant, fail-operational architecture was developed for the MRV. Should the steer-ing motor fail, the computer system responds immediately by sending signals to a second, redundant motor. Should that computer fail, a second computer is ready to take over vehicle control. This redundancy is paramount to safe operations of a by-wire system.

MRV’s redundant drive-by-wire architecture allows for advanced safety and dynamic control schemes. These can be implemented with a driver operating either within the vehicle or by remote interface. In the future this system can be expanded to allow for autonomous driving

MRV is driven by four independent wheel modules called e-corners. Each e-corner consists of a redundant steering actuator, a passive trailing arm suspension, an in-wheel pro-pulsion motor, and a motor-driven friction braking system.

Each e-corner can be controlled independently and rotated ±180 degrees about its axis. This allows for a suite of driving modes allowing MRV to maneuver unlike any traditional vehicle on the road. In addition to conventional front two wheel steering, the back wheels can also articulate allowing for turning radiuses as tight as zero. The driving mode can be switched so that all four wheels point and move in the same direction achieving an omni-directional, crab-like motion. This makes a maneuver such as parallel parking as easy as driving next to an available spot, stopping, and then operating sideways to slip directly in between two cars.

“This two-seater vehicle was designed to meet the growing challenges and demands of urban transportation,” said Mason Markee, also with Johnson. “The MRV would be ideal for daily transportation in an urban environment with a designed top speed of 70 km/hr and range of 100 km of city driving on a single charge of the battery. The size and maneuverability of MRV gives it an advantage in navigating and parking in tight quarters.”

The driver controls MRV with a conventional looking steering wheel and accelerator/brake pedal assembly. Both of these interfaces were specially designed to mimic the feel of the mechanical/hydraulic systems that people are used to feeling when driving their own cars. Each device includes its own redundancy to protect for electrical failures within the systems. A multi-axis joystick is available to allow additional control in some of the more advanced drive modes. A configurable display allows for changing of drive modes and gives the user critical vehicle information and health and status indicators.

Each propulsion motor is located inside the wheel and capable of producing 190 ft-lbs of torque. An active thermal control loop maintains temperatures of these high powered motors. A separate thermal loop cools the avionics, includ-ing custom lithium-ion battery packs.

“While the vehicle as a whole is designed around oper-ating in an urban environment, the core technologies are advancements used in many of our robotic systems and rovers,” explained Mason. “Actuators, motor controllers, sensors, batteries, BMS, component cooling, sealing, and software are all examples of technologies that are being devel oped and tested in MRV that will be used in next generation rover systems.”

The technologies developed in MRV have direct appli-cation in future manned vehicles undertaking missions on the surface of Earth’s moon, on Mars, or even an asteroid. Additionally, MRV provides a platform to learn lessons that could drive the next generation of automobiles.

Posted on

Torque Vector Steering Improves Electric Vehicle Energy Efficiency

Germany's Karlsruhe Institute for Technology along with industry partner Schaeffler are researching improvements in electric vehicle energy efficiency by using brake steer or torque vector control of wheel motors to assist power steering.

The project "Intelligent Assisted Steering System with Optimum Energy Efficiency for Electric Vehicles (e²-Lenk)" subsidized by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) focuses on a new assisted steering concept. In conventional vehicles, the internal combustion engine not only accelerates the car but also supplies on-board assist systems with energy; such as the assisted steering system, which reduces the strain on the driver at the wheel.

In electric vehicles, this energy comes from the battery and also reduces the range as a result. In this research project by the collaborating partners, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) and Schaeffler, the steering system is assisted in an energy-efficient manner by intelligent control of the drive torques transmitted to the individual wheels. The project is being sponsored by BMBF with a sum of around 0.6 million euros over 3 years and was started in January 2015.

"The new assisted steering system would require less system components in an electric vehicle, this would mean savings in terms of weight and energy in an electric vehicle", explain project managers Dr. Marcel Mayer, Schaeffler, and Dr. Michael Frey, KIT. "This would mean that an electric car would be cheaper and have a greater range." Materials and production steps can be saved due to the potential optimization of the design and weight.

The basic idea of the e²-Lenk project is simple: The wheels in an electric car will be driven individually by electric motors in contrast to a car with an internal combustion engine where all the wheels are provided with equal force. If the wheels on the left side transmit more drive torque to the road than those on the right side, this will result in acceleration of the vehicle to the right without the need to turn the front wheels or consume additional energy for steering.

Tracked vehicles or quadrocopters steer using the same principle. "Steering assistance can be provided while driving by means of an intelligent control system and suitable wheel suspension", says Schaeffler engineer Mayer, Manager of the Automatic Driving Working Group, which is carrying out research as part of the collaborative research project SHARE (Schaeffler Hub for Automotive Research in E-Mobility) at KIT. "Only steering when stationary remains a challenge with conventional designs."

"The assisted steering system is part of the drive train with our approach", explains Frey who is researching at KIT's Institute of Vehicle Systems Technology. Steering the front wheels is carried out without using additional energy. "We also want to significantly increase the quality of driving. Customer benefit, comfort, safety and reliability go hand in hand here."

As part of the project, functional demonstrators are being built, with which the concepts can be validated and optimized in experiments. It is also planned to implement the system in last year's Formula Student racing car KIT built by the university group KA-RaceIng with the participation of the students.

e²-Lenk is the first publicly subsidized joint project as part of the collaborative re-search project SHARE at KIT between Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG and KIT. This joint project is being managed at KIT's East Campus in a joint project management office run by SHARE at KIT and the Institute of Vehicle Systems Technology (FAST).

Schaeffler and KIT are partners in the Leading Edge Cluster Electric Mobility South-West (ESW), which connects over 80 stakeholders from science and economics in the region Karlsruhe – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm. The cluster strategy of the ESW cluster aims to achieve intensive regional collaboration in the field of electric mobility by means of new approaches and forms of cooperation. As a result, knowledge is developed, consolidated and ultimately advantages are achieved in international competition.

Posted on

Axial Flux Induction Motor for Hybrid and Electric Cars [VIDEO]

EV Powertrain start-up Evans Electric is rumoured to have been working on some interesting electric vehicle projects recently.

The team have developed a world-first copper rotor axial flux induction motor for automotive applications. The patent pending design has torque density on par with comparable axial air gap synchronous motors but without the expense of rare-earth permanent magnets.

Disc-shaped Axial flux motors are steadily making inroads into electric vehicle powertrains with Renault, Koenigsegg and Bugatti all looking to incorporate them into future models.

Evans Electric were also rumoured to have been hired by an OEM to help develop the architecture of a series hybrid powertrain based on in-board AFIMs with all-wheel-drive torque vectoring powered by a supercapacitor / li-ion battery energy storage system.

No news on which OEMs head these projects but they are believed to be EU headquartered.

Posted on

Aston Martin début all-electric all-wheel-drive DBX Concept

Aston Martin has surprise all at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show with the debut of an all electric DBX Concept.

Aston Martin is calling the DBX Concept a high luxury GT that fits the description of a crossover coupe. Far from a production ready vehicle, the concept is just a design study for the time being, but Aston does admit there is a market for such a vehicle.

The DBX Concept is an all-wheel drive crossover high luxury GT that uses in-board electric wheel motors at all four corners powered by lithium sulphur cells. Steering is a drive-by-wire system and both the driver and passenger have head-up displays surrounded by auto-dimming ‘smart glass’.

The DBX Concept can accommodate four adults and all the cargo they could ever want since there is a traditional rear cargo area as well as a front trunk occupying the place usually reserved for a ICE.

Souce: Autocar

Posted on

GM developing a high-performance electric AWD system for next-gen Cadillacs

According to Edmunds, General Motors is developing a high performance electric all-wheel drive system for next-gen V-Series Cadillac models and maybe their crossovers. This system could make its way into other GM Alpha-platform-based vehicles such as the Cadillac ATS and Chevrolet Camaro, and possibly a Corvette derivative.

All-wheel drive has become a must-have for high-performance luxury car buyers, and Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are ahead of the game with their AWD-equipped vehicles. Cadillac, however, lags behind this trend, having just introduced the 455-horsepower ATS-V and 640-hp CTS-V, both rear-wheel-drive sedans. Cadillac is also lagging in its offering of electrified fuel-efficient models.

An electric all-wheel-drive system, known in the industry by the acronym e-AWD, can potentially boost fuel economy in many future vehicles and help expand their plug-in hybrid offerings, however, the system GM desires is many years in the future.

Joe Slenvak, director of powertrain electrification for North America at Robert Bosch, told Edmunds that adding electric all-wheel drive to the front wheels of a rear-drive car has challenges.

"When you put the electric axle drive in the front, you have a lot of crossmembers and things that are in the cradle that you have to work around. It would be a little bit hard to do (but) I think you could do it," Slenvak said.

Sounds like an application perfectly suited to in-wheel motors.

Slenvak said a vehicle could be retrofitted to add that system. He would not say if Bosch is developing an electric all-wheel-drive system for GM's rear-drive cars.

Source: Edmunds

Posted on

Swiss electric car sets acceleration World Record

An electric racing car developed by students at ETH Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on Monday set a world record for acceleration, the universities announced.

The “grimsel” car sped from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in just 1.785 seconds, at a military airport in Dübendorf in the canton of Zurich, smashing the the previous record.

The previous record of 2.13 seconds was set by Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Operated by a student team from the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ), The grimsel car, reached a speed of 100 km/h in less than 30 metres, ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, said in a news release.

Thirty students from the two swiss universities developed and built the racing car in less than a year.

Weighing just 168 kilograms, the carbon-fibre vehicle generates 200 horsepower through four-wheel drive, ETH said.

Four specially designed wheel hub motors create a total torque of 1,630 Newton metres (Nm), with torque distribution controlled individually for each wheel to maximize acceleration, the university said.

AMZ was founded in 2006 ivy ETH students and produces a prototype racing car to compete in various student formula competitions in Europe every year.

The grimsel car will be presented to the public at “Student Power Day” on November 9th at the ETH Hönggerberg campus, with test rides planned between noon and 2pm.

Posted on

BMW-Toyota sports car to use all-wheel drive and supercapacitors

BMW's newly minted alliance with Toyota will result in a hybrid all-wheel-drive Z4 / Supra replacement, complete with supercapacitor technology for increased performance, Autocar reports.

The car will have a front-engined direct-injection four cylinder turbo and electric motors driving all four wheels. The supercapacitor system will be derived from technology first seen in Toyota's Hybrid Supra HV-R in 2007 when it won the Tokachi 24 hour race and more recenly Toyota's Le Mans LMP1 race cars.

BMW will supply the 2.0 liter turbocharged engine combined with electric motors produced by BMW at its engine plant in Munich while a Toyota-developed electronics system is expected to provide torque-vectoring capability.

With the car expected to have a front mounted engine and sequential manual gearbox in a conventional longitudinal powertrain layout it will be interesting to see what type of electric motors BMW deploy to drive the front wheels, perhaps in-wheel motors?

Posted on

EVDrive Demo a UTV with 4-Wheel Motor Torque Vectoring [VIDEO]

EVDrive completed development and demonstrated a powersports industry first, an "electric 4-wheel 4-electric-motor torque vectoring technology" called Terra-Torque-Drive™, specifically geared to 4-wheel off-road powersports vehicles, such as for the rapidly growing market segment of side by side Utility Terrain Vehicles or UTVs. After taking recent demo rides in the EVDrive-UTV tech demonstrator, powersports industry insiders, such as UTV OEM reps and UTV racers enthusiastically agree, that the Terra-Torque-Drive™, technology would beat almost all of today's top "gas/mechanical powered" 4wd UTVs. OEMs now have the opportunity to license this unique technology for integration into their own future powersports side by side UTV vehicle offerings.

Approximately 323,000 UTVs were retailed in North America in 2012, according to Power Products Marketing (PPM), a market research firm. PPM found consumer models (for example: Polaris RZR XP900) accounted for around 35% of total sales; Prosumer models (example: Deere XUV825i) garnered around 55% share, and commercial models (example: Bobcat Toolcat) were responsible for about 5% of sales. Industry insiders concur that the new EVDrive technology could apply to all 3 market segments. Compared to the top UTVs sold today, a Terra-Torque-Drive™, powered UTV with EVDrive Range Extender (REX) installed would excel in these areas:

1 - Highest efficiency 4wd drivetrain on any UTV today (least mechanical losses)
2 - Adjustable hill descent control (accomplished via an "electric engine braking" called "regen" putting energy back into the vehicles battery system from each of the 4 wheels)
3 - Dynamic torque vectoring modes both for high and low speed operation, e.g. industry unique "Zero Radius Turning" and high speed active torque vectoring allows for better and safer handling off-road
4 - Torque and power from -100 to +100% can be dynamically sent to any wheel, in either direction, in any combination, at any time.
5 - True Series hybrid with optimized internal combustion engine powered REX to allow for longer range matching or exceeding gas powered UTVs sold today. (REX is a high voltage specialized generator- LPG, gas or diesel powered REX engine easily adaptable, no mechanical connections to vehicle)
6 - 120vac power from onboard battery pack, backed up with the REX for general utility use
7 - Lower cost to maintain and operate - superior fuel economy, estimated average 50-100% better – for short trips, no fuel may be needed at all – plug-in to standard electric car chargers.
8 - Superior straight-line and rough loose material, curvy trail acceleration
9 - Greater river depth traversal possible due to completely sealed liquid cooled e-motors/power electronics.
10 - Stealthy low noise operation in electric only mode e.g. wildlife observation & hunting
11 - Torque vectoring software platform allows new traction capabilities to be supported like "apps" without costly mechanical NRE expenses to the OEM – OEM can provide customers software updates for new capabilities.

EVDrive chose the 4-seat Kawasaki Teryx4 as a tech demonstration platform because of its short wheelbase, smaller turning radius, and large break over angle to minimize getting hung up on obstacles. EVDrive modified this UTV with complete removal of the gas engine and AWD mechanical drivetrain and replaced with a 160hp peak total version of the Terra-Torque-Drive™. Unlike the stock Kawasaki Teryx4 UTV mechanical AWD drive, no additional mechanical losses are incurred in the Terra-Torque-Drive™, regardless of AWD mode from lack of transmission, driveshafts and differentials. "Off-road UTVs are ideally suited to our torque vectoring technology where only single fixed speed reduction is required per motor-wheel to attain 55-75mph top-speeds with the type of high RPM brushless motor technology we employ," said COO, co-founder, Steve Tice.

The Terra-Torque-Drive™, is a customized version of the general and modular EVDrive-Train architecture™ (http://bit.ly/EVD-Arch) used on all EVDrive conversion projects, with an in-house developed scale-able torque vector software platform added running on the EVDrive VCU (vehicle control unit), which supports new traction modes with inputs from all driver controls plus vehicle sensors such as accelerometers, etc. Some planned traction modes, that go beyond what is currently running on the demonstrator: auto dynamic terrain type posi-traction control, variable inclination angle offset descent control, zero radius turns on incline, emergency 4-wheel panic braking/stop & boulder climbing.

The Terra-Torque-Drive™, powered e-UTV demonstrator uses 4 of the sealed liquid-cooled EVDrive EVD35 35kW/47HP peak drive sub-systems, de-tuned to ~30kW/40HP each or delivering a total of ~160HP/120kW peak. At each motor shaft, ~66 ft-lbs peak torque is delivered. The 4 gearboxes allow ratio changes with off-the-shelf gearsets. With the currently installed single speed gearsets, at the CV joint of each wheel, a whopping 726 ft-lbs peak torque is delivered. This is the kind of torque necessary to perform Zero Radius Turns with a fully loaded vehicle and perhaps even some extreme rock climbing. "With these gearsets, a top speed of 45mph is achieved with acceleration to this speed of less than 4 seconds if you get good traction – at zero speed all 4 wheels will break loose on dry asphalt!" said EVDrive's CTO & co-founder, Bob Simpson.

In the accompanying video to this press release, some of the e-UTV tech demonstrator more technical features are revealed, such as: control touch screen for the Terra-Torque-Drive™, specifically the interface to the in-house developed VCU, shown in accompanying picture links below, and optional engine sound synthesis unit some OEMs expressed interest in, with 2 sounds demonstrated in the video, a gas turbine and V-twin motorcycle sound.

Addition of the15kW REX not only gives the UTV full performance and range to match and exceed top UTVs on the market but also offers a feature the competition does not, that is 120vac of electrical power anywhere you need it. "With the REX sub-system part of the Terra-Torque-Drive™, a hybrid UTV can be a true swiss-army-knife UTV, able to deliver power in remote locations for construction/utility/ranch applications, run silent for hunting/wildlife observation & with full-time 4wd torque vectoring, can deliver off-road handling and performance for sports/recreation, in summary, addressing all needs in the consumer, prosumer and commercial markets," said CEO, Steve Tice.

"Similar to our 25kW REX technology installed in our Series-PHEV BMW325 tech testbed -> http://bit.ly/PHEV-BMW-3-series but smaller, our custom high voltage 15kW-single cylinder (ICE) powered REX for the UTV is located between the rear seats – so with this sub-system, competing against top 4-seat UTVs in range will not be a problem - certainly the performance meets and beats stock UTVs we have tested" said EVDrive's CTO Bob Simpson. The REX gas engine can be modified to run on LPG as well offering additional emissions and operational cost advantages. EVDrive's REX technology supporting the hybrid e-UTV development has been already designed & proven in EVDrive Series PHEV BMW 325i Technology Testbed here shown sealed below rear spare tire floor - no protrusion above stock floor as shown in pictures at link included above.

EV West is partnering with EVDrive to deploy and demonstrate Terra-Digital-Torque-Steer™ all-wheel torque vectoring technology on full-size off-road vehicles. EV West is known for many milestones; e.g. Builders and drivers of the record breaking all-electric BMW 3-series street sedan at the Pikes Peak International Hill climb and builders of first ever electric off-road race car to run the Baja Mexican 1000 race in the National Off Road Racing Association's series.

Posted on

SIM-Drive Develop 4 motor AWD electric Toyota 86 [VIDEO]

The EV SIM-86e, a Toyota 86 developed by SIM-DRIVE, was exhibited at the Odaiba Motor Fes. The car is an 86 based EV, with all 4 wheels powered by independent motors.

Technical specifications haven't been released (in English at least) but we can make some educated guesses. The AWD EVs developed by SIM-Drive to date, SIM-Lei, SIM-Wil & SIM-Cel have all used direct drive in-wheel motors. We can see from the picture below, the standard friction brakes are visible in the wheels so the SIM-86e must be running in-board motors.

In developing the SIM-86e, Tajima Motor Corporation used E-RUNNER technology, which the company has been developing for racing vehicles to participate in the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. TMC Chairman of the Board and SIM-Drive President and Director Nobuhiro Tajima explained:

“Since our development of a 4WD automobile with a twin engine, we have been playing with such car-control technology as multiple power sources and 4 independent motors. In the SIM-86e we have thoroughly employed the control know-how cultivated through developments to E-RUNNER technology.”

While the Pikes Peak winning E-RUNNER was all-wheel-drive, it used only two motors driving the wheels through a differential on each axle. The motors were supplied by GKN and belived to be 2x AFM-240 Axial Flux motors, each capable of 335 kw (455 hp) and 1200 Nm Peak. As the GKN Evo motors are not suitable for in-wheel mounting we might speculate that the SIM-86e may be running 4x in-board AFM-140 Axial Flux motors driving the wheels via standard half-shafts, with or without gear reduction.

“This year there were some wet roads, and for that reason our times didn't improve. However, with next year’s dry conditions, I think it may be possible to achieve a new course record. Also, our efforts for next year’s car are making it compatible with a fast charger, meaning we will get technological feed back for product version EVs as well. Both for practical reasons and in times of crises, EV’s clearly need to have the ability to charge quickly. I’m confident that fast charging technology for harsh motor sports conditions will be useful for developing the product versions to come.”