Automotive Engineering - August 2021 - 19

COVER STORY
play " IWM developers, like Protean and Elaphe, who
have been refining their designs for more than a decade,
as well as several automotive suppliers. Some
have made production announcements and demonstrated
IWM vehicle concepts, as they are seeing IWM
as a natural extension to their current business. In addition,
startup EV " skateboard " developers are integrating
wheel motor corner modules into what they
believe is the best " ground-up " EV platform solution.
More technology developments and business announcements
can be expected in the near future.
Reinventing vehicle development
IWMs will not only shape the form and function of
future vehicles. As with the skateboard architecture,
they will influence how automakers develop a product
portfolio and how vehicles will be manufactured
and serviced. Tier 1 supplier Schaeffler has envisioned
an entire IWM-driven vehicle portfolio.
Independent corner modules that integrate braking,
steering, suspension and propulsion with the wheel
and tire assembly can make it easier to develop a wider
variety of vehicles off the same architecture, because
it becomes easier to change both track and
wheelbase. It can also lead to a " plug-and-play " philosophy
where the entire module is " bolted on " to the
skateboard on the assembly line and quickly swapped
out when repairs are needed. It is conceivable that a
scalable module (with customization of power and
torque) could support the entire vehicle portfolio, especially
as software will increasingly be a primary
method for vehicle differentiation.
Continuous improvement in power electronics,
Three views of a Schaeffler Group IWM corner module incorporating the supplier's
e-motor and control technologies, and FAG bearings.
sealing, bearings and torque density have brought the IWM close to
production-ready status. When combined with the future trends in
mobility, the future looks promising for IWMs to revolutionize vehicle
design, development, manufacturing and servicing.
Dr. Chris Borroni-Bird is co-author of Reinventing the Automobile: Personal
Urban Mobility for the 21st Century, with Dr. Larry Burns and the late Prof. Bill
Mitchell (MIT Press, 2010). He has led advanced automotive-related activities
at Chrysler, GM, Qualcomm and Waymo including the development of several
IWM concepts at GM, including the 2002 Autonomy (the first " skateboard "
concept) and the 2010 EN-V. He holds 50 patents and is the founder of
Afreecar LLC (afreecar.org), where he consults on future mobility and has
created a novel e-kit solution for the developing world.
WA8351-AL SMT Transformer
For Ultrasonic Sensing
* Optimized for a variety of ultrasonic transducers
* Compact package reduces board space by up to 20%
* Excellent temperature stability up to 125°C (ambient)
* High performance for ultrasonic time-of-flight (TOF) sensing
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AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79443-707
July/August 2021 19
SCHAEFFLER GROUP
https://www.afreecar.org http://info.hotims.com/79443-707 http://info.hotims.com/79443-707
Automotive Engineering - August 2021

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