Great Idea! Wasn't this same idea on the cover about 20 years ago?

It seems to me that adding the motor drive mass to the wheel will result in a rougher ride. Is this so?

Wait...So you are going to charge the battery with a battery??

Seems to me that if thats the case you should just get a bigger battery! (If you are going to have the space taken up by the extra anyway)

Its great that Volvo is finally getting around to the innovative designs needed to bring fuel efficiency into the 21st century. I've been refining a similiar concept over the last 3 years, which should result in a 300 mpg efficiency.

I like that their concept will eliminate the Transmission and reduce wasted energy. With a few additional improvements, they should also be able to reduce or eliminate the brakes and use the Electro-magnet as both a motor powering all four wheels and as a power generator which could be used during braking and simultaneously re-charge the battery. Battery size/weight could also be dramatically reduced.

I hope they can bring to market sooner.

Great job guys, keep up the innovative approach.

At your service

Sincerely,

John Frei
Toms River, NJ

Love this design!
What about just having one motor ...in the middle of a solid drive shaft though? It would be simpler, less expensive and wouldn't require 'thin tires'.
Also, if it were put on the rear axle...even simpler!
Connect a solid rear and solid front axle...'twin-axle' drive.

Not all batteries are the same. They have different characteristics in regards to the amount of power than can be drawn from them, how fast that power can be drawn out, how long the take to recharge, etc. It could easily make sense to have two or more banks of batteries, with different characteristics, one for powering the motors and another for holding large charges on a long term basis.

Myk
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Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest. - Isaac Asimov, 1920 - 1992

Volvo should be acknowledged for reviving some work done by the engineer R.G. LeTourneau. LeTourneau invented Electric Wheel Drive in 1950 for use in heavy equipment, earthmovers and the like. My father was an operating engineer in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and had occasion to use LeTourneau heavy equipment many times; he noted that operating the electric wheel driven equipment was very much easier than some of the other heavy equipment of the day.

Few folks realize, too, that the hybrid power system is not new. Every modern locomotive is a hybrid. Those massive diesel engines are there to drive generators to power the engines electric drive system. I find it refreshing that these old tried and true approaches, half centuries old, are beginning to be acknowledge for their versatility and economy. My only lament is that the automotive industry has taken so long to move out of their comfort zone and look at true innovation.

I've heard that heavier tires would be less efficient, and the suppression of a heavier bounce might be the reason.

The artical wasn't clear, on how the standard transmission was a cost of 10-20% of energy. Does that mean the energy soaked up by accelerating the extra mass, or the energy lost to internal frictions? An Electric Transmission will still have the burdens of Power Capacity, where an increase of force or torque will increase the diameter of the axle or conductor.

The problem of ballancing the motors sounds to be what Differentials are for, and those Permanent Magnets are going to demand some kind of virtual commutator. Nikolai, from what I understand, eventually worked out a simple three phase motor, using no commutator, by replacing those Permanent Magnets with Feromagnetism. Think of them as Dynamically Defined Permanent Magnets.

Trolley Busses are known for good hill-climbing acceleration, as well as regenerative breaking, but Turbines are known to have good characteristics in a narrow power band, so the rear wheels might kick the ground, electrically, but also drive the turbine for the front wheels, to eat the ground ahead, when running at speed. Rear Wheels for Acceleration, and Front Wheels to Stop and (really-really) Go.

Arawn

Do you hear what I hear, then you might be selling flowers too.

I have subscribed to this mag. for 20 years and I think this is the end. As long as the auto companies and big oil can continue the "see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil", we will continue to be tied to petroleum.
Bugs to produce gasoline? Right, just partner with a oil producer and you will end up like ECD (Energy Conversion Devices) and bury the licenses and patents until they fossilize.
Ethanol? Why is it so hard to use switchgrass, instead of corn? My cornflakes have gone up. Venezuela has had it for years and in different blends, so they can sell us their crude, bad Commies.
Remember the EV1? All of them are crushed and landfill fodder, except for museum pieces that were disabled. How environmental of them.Couldn't own one if you wanted to. Ford was no different with the Electric Ranger. Only leased and had to return without a chance to purchase.
Now, our future is Hydrogen. Forget electric. Congress has spoken, we just play like the little monkeys, too. We haven't reached the point where our thirst for gasoline has destroyed our economy. We can't wait until 2015. Mister President, Mister Speaker of the House, Oil is the Everyman's Heroin. We're ALL addicted. We need DEA enforcement, now. On counseling or 12 step program can help us.We are beyond peak world production, not good till the last drop.
This publication has as much fantacy as it does fact, any more. I do not wish to gamble on my or anyone's future with your silly stock markets. I do hear-by wish to cancel my subscription. By the way, you owe me money with which I might purchase a gallon or 2 of sweet nectar from the gods of babylon.

Keith Missinne
check the subscriber list in one hour. I can't believe I had to join and log in just to clear my throat.

4000 pound vehicle to transport 150 to 400 pounds of people? Does that make good sense? Think we have to rethink concept?