Bridgestone Introduces “Revolutionary” Dynamic-Damping In-Wheel Motor Drive System

Bridgestone Corporation has developed a dynamic-damping in-wheel motor drive system that promises improved performance for advanced electric vehicles. Bridgestones’s dynamic-damping system overcomes disadvantages of existing in-wheel motor drive systems that have limited the applicability of those systems.

Installing the drive motors inside the wheels allows for controlling each wheel individually, which enhances handling. It also eliminates the need for the differential and drive shaft and therefore allows for unprecedented freedom in designing vehicles. Designers can allocate more space to the driver and passengers without increasing the overall size and weight of the vehicle.

A drawback of in-wheel drive motors has been added unsprung weight, which adversely affects comfort and road-holding performance. This situation has limited the utility of in-wheel motor systems in electric vehicles. Bridgestones’s new technology overcomes this drawback by using the motors themselves to function as vibration dampers. Their own vibration offsets the vibration from the road and tires, allowing for better traction and a more-comfortable ride than are possible with other in-wheel or electric drive systems.

In order to develop a commercially viable version, Bridgestone will simultaneously develop tires that will maximize the benefits of the system.