Road Bumps Could Power Electric Vehicles Of The Future, BMW's Patent Shows

Poor roads are no fun! But could road bumps help power cars? A new patent from BMW reveals that the company wants to capitalise on poor road infrastructure to generate energy for cars.

A document unearthed by CarBuzz from the German national patent office reveals a new suspension device that would allow a car to generate electricity from bumps in the road.

The patent, also verified by the Verge, shows off a new way to charge the battery of electric vehicles. The more bumps you get, the more charged your vehicle would be.

If bumpy roads sound like home to you, perhaps such cars could be the workaround long charging times for electric vehicles.

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How would the tech work?

According to the patent document, the energy generated from the up and down movement of a car's suspension is wasted as heat energy. The proposed set up would include a small generator, flywheel, and clutch in the suspension to capture energy during this process.

Patent reveals BMW's design

It appears that the generator is ticked off whenever a car's wheel moves upward in response to a bump. The resulting energy is then used to recharge the battery of this electric vehicle.

Also read: New Technique Charges Electric Vehicles Even Faster Than Smartphones

CarBuzz claims that BMW might use this system on a future flagship model. It's important to note here that patents do not always materialise into products. Sometimes, companies just like to toy with concepts.

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In this case, the BMW patent was filed in May 2021, but it's not the first suggestion of this tech.

Germany's Audi announced in 2016 that it was developing a prototype called "eROT" that would convert kinetic energy into electricity for a car's electrical system. But this never went into production.

Also read: IIT Guwahati's Tech Will Help Make Electric Vehicles Tailored For Indian Roads

Regardless, it will be fascinating to see how companies use this technology to support the switch to electric vehicles - especially ones that don't need hours for a single charge.

What do you think about this interesting concept for electric vehicles? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Pretorius, M. (2022, December 1). New BMW Suspension Turns Speed Bumps Into Electricity For Electric Cars. CarBuzz. https://carbuzz.com/news/new-bmw-suspension-turns-speed-bumps-into-electricity-for-electric-cars

George, P. (2022, December 7). BMW thinks it can turn speed bumps into energy for its EVs. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/7/23497032/bmw-suspension-speed-bump-energy-patent