Report Card: From Speakers to Suspensions
5/21/2008
Ed Sunkin reports on some of the latest automotive suspension technology from the Bose Corp.
By Ed Sunkin
Akron, OH – You’re probably familiar with the name Bose and the company
best known for creating high-performance audio products. But did you
know their research activities go well beyond sound? In fact, for over
two decades, Bose has been researching a new system for automobile
suspensions.
I myself recently learned of this while attending the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Class of 2008 dinner and induction ceremony Saturday, May 3. (Thanks to
my wife who received tickets to the invitation-only black tie affair
from her job as director of marketing and community relations for the Akron Beacon Journal.)
Amar Gopal Bose, one of eight inventors to join the Hall of Fame ranks
and the founder of the Bose Corporation in 1964, was a student at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the mid-1950s. One day, after
Bose bought a stereo – choosing the best he could find – he returned
home, set it up, and found himself disappointed. The speakers with
impressive technical specifications failed to reproduce the realism of
a live performance.
''I knew something was very wrong because it didn't sound like a
violin should sound,'' said Bose, 78. ''And I knew there was nothing
wrong with my ears.''
Over the next 12 years, Bose spent his evenings trying to make a
better sounding speaker. Extensive research in the fields of speaker
design and psychoacoustics—the human perception of sound—led to the
groundbreaking 901 Direct/Reflecting speaker system in 1968. Its
unprecedented approach to sound reproduction came much closer to the
essence and emotional impact of live music, and won immediate acclaim.
Now, Dr. Bose is gaining attention in the automobile suspension industry.
According to the Bose website,
the challenge for conventional automobile suspensions are two
conflicting goals: passenger comfort and vehicle control. Current
suspensions designed with an emphasis on passenger comfort, as in
typical luxury sedans, deliver a smooth ride but allow the car to roll
and pitch during cornering and braking. Suspensions emphasizing vehicle
control, as in sports cars, reduce roll and pitch but sacrifice comfort.
The research program began in 1980 with five years of mathematical
analysis to determine the optimum suspension performance, ignoring the
limitations of any existing suspension hardware. This analysis
indicated that a much higher level of performance could be obtained
than that provided by systems using variable dampers and springs or
hydraulics. The five-year theoretical study led to electromagnetics as
the one approach that could realize the desired suspension
characteristics.
The proprietary Bose suspension system couples linear electromagnetic
motors and power amplifiers with a set of unique control algorithms.
For the first time, it is possible to have, in the same automobile, a
much smoother ride than in any luxury sedan and less roll and pitch
than in any sports car. The Bose research vehicle provides superior
comfort by gliding smoothly over bumpy roads and superior control by
keeping the car body level during aggressive maneuvers.
The technology of this system is impressive. For more information and details of the technology, visit the Bose site.
There also is a technical white paper in our Training Center on the Bose Suspension System.
And who knows. Maybe Dr, Bose will one day be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.