A group of undergrads at MIT has a invented a shock absorber that collects kinetic energy that's caused when a car hits a bump in the road and turns it into electricity. And the geeks claim their GenShock generates juice while simultaneously smoothing a car's ride better than conventional shocks.
The students also hope to generate some serious coin by selling the concept to companies that operate large fleets of heavy vehicles. Several truck manufacturers have already expressed interest, as has an organization with real money in these tough economic times: the U.S. military.
AM General, which produces the Humvee and is currently developing the next-generation of the all-purpose military vehicle, loaned the MIT students a vehicle for testing purposes. Just think about taking that to Florida for spring break.
The idea for the project came about because the students "wanted to figure out where energy is being wasted in a vehicle," explained senior Zack Anderson (pictured above in his shop clothes). Since hybrid cars already recover energy from braking, the MIT team examined other places in a moving vehicle where energy is generated and then dissipated -- and ultimately wasted. And they zeroed in on the suspension.
We vote for slapping these things on every hybrid taxi cab roaming New York's pot-holed streets.
brn says:
11:14 AM, 02/10/09
Breaking news: A group of students invent something that's already been invented.
rsholland says:
11:14 AM, 02/10/09
What a great idea! ...And who said youth was wasted on the young?
subytrojan says:
11:52 AM, 02/10/09
Very cool!!!
Oh really, brn? Link please?
ctpax says:
12:16 PM, 02/10/09
how could I not think of this before?!!! Or anyone else for that matter?
firstwagon says:
12:27 PM, 02/10/09
Very interesting idea.
I could see it really helping hybrids with their hwy mileage. One problem with hybrids is if you are rarely braking (like on the hwy), the only way to recharge the battery is with the gas motor and the extra load brings down the mileage.
In theory this could be a great way to keep the battery charged while cruising down the road.
rsholland says:
12:38 PM, 02/10/09
firstwagon,
I agree.
I think this (making use of wasted energy) could have the potential of becoming a "perpetual motion" powerplant, never needing refueling or recharging.
It could be to the auto industry, as to what stem cell research could be to medicine.
redliner says:
02:41 PM, 02/10/09
... now that you bring up interesting suspension designs...
Whatever happened with the Bose Magnetic suspension they have supposedly been working on for 20 years?
billt9 says:
04:21 PM, 02/10/09
redliner,
Well googling the Bose suspension showed that they mentioned the car to put the Bose suspension on has to be $100,000+, since the huge amounts of neodymium used is very expensive.
And the timeline noted was to deploy it within 5 years of 2006, which is by 2011...
brn says:
07:33 PM, 02/10/09
subytrojan,
Patent application 11/346505, filed 02/02/2006.
Patent application 09/850412, filed 05/07/2001.
I'm sure there are others, but these are the first two that showed up in a Google search.
I'm delighted that they're doing something constructive, but they didn't invent it.
firstwagon says:
08:10 PM, 02/10/09
Well it seems they patented it as well according to the article. Looks like the technology for generating electricity is different.
It's often less important who has the original idea as it is who can make it work.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
08:12 PM, 02/10/09
Clever idea, even if they were not the first.
There have been some very complex designs for electromagnetic shocks to control all kinds of ride conditions.
However, a simple electromagnetic generator in tandem with existing hydraulic damper should produce reasonable amounts of electricity for personal electronics or cabin lighting without any detrimental effects.
rsholland says:
07:14 AM, 02/11/09
"It's often less important who has the original idea as it is who can make it work."
So true.
ahightower says:
12:24 PM, 02/11/09
So now it will be "green" to NOT repair our roads?
bbechtel16 says:
01:34 PM, 02/11/09
Ooh, potential issue ^
rsholland says:
02:31 PM, 02/11/09
"So now it will be "green" to NOT repair our roads?"
No. Shocks get a workout on smooth/good roads too.