Audi’s electromechanical rotary damper (eROT) will make your Audi more economical
Audi is developing a new suspension system – electromechanical rotary damper (eROT) – which harvests energy to charge the car’s batteries.
Whether it’s in an EV or hybrid, recovered energy gives the car more stored energy for no (or little) extra cost and reduces the running costs in the process, so car makers are looking for more ways they can recover waste energy.
Audi has logically decided that the endless ups and downs of a cars suspension are ripe for exploitation as a source oif wasted energy and are in the process of developing an Electric Rotary Suspension (eROT for short) which will change the way suspension works and recover energy too.
In the new system, horizontal electromechanical rotary dampers replace the usual telescopic shock absorbers and promise a more responsive and comfortable ride thanks to the ability to tune the compression and rebound strokes independently and active control for almost instant response to surface changes.
Not only that, but the new units are much more compact, so more room in the boot and under the bonnet.
But beyond the more controlled ride, the new dampers cleverly harvest the energy that would be dissipated as heat in a conventional damper and feed it back in to the car’s 48-volt electrical system, potentially improving economy and emissions by anything up to 10 per cent.
As the system recovers more energy the poorer the road surface, it sound like it’ll be a real boon for UK motorists, and it may not be far away.
A 48-volt electric system is needed for eROT to work (as it is for Audi’s latest electrical turbo) but that’s something Audi has in the pipeline across its range, and already fitted to the latest Q7. So eROT (we’d come up with a different acronym if we were Audi) should be on the cards in the next couple of years.
Have your say - leave a comment