In comparison with inside combustion autos, battery-powered vehicles are a lot less complicated. There’s no oil to vary, no multi-gear transmission that may go flawed if you happen to don’t handle it, and all of the mechanical elements normally take up much less area.

That’s why we get frunks, a flat flooring, and beneficiant trunks on most EVs. However issues is perhaps even higher within the packaging division, as Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia discovered.

Meet the Common Wheel Drive System (or Uni Wheel for brief), which was designed to make room for extra stuff underneath an EV’s physique–batteries (which might result in extra vary), space for storing, or simply to have a extra ethereal cabin.

The compact but sophisticated unit integrates a single solar gear that transfers energy by way of a pair of pinion gear arms that may transfer independently to an outer ring gear in a versatile planetary design. With this method, there’s no want for a traditional fixed velocity (CV) axle to switch energy from the electrical motor to the wheel as a result of the enter shaft of the Uni Wheel can transfer up/down and left/proper with out enormous losses in effectivity.

With CV axles out of the image and a set of redesigned electrical motors which are extra compact available, the drivetrain is easier and takes up much less area on the chassis. Hyundai and Kia say that the system–which continues to be in its infancy–affords improved experience high quality, higher sturdiness, and elevated effectivity along with higher packaging choices in comparison with the present method of doing issues.

The Uni Wheel additionally incorporates the discount gear that’s normally discovered subsequent to the electrical motor in at present’s standard EVs, which permits for the motor housing to be smaller.

Right here’s how Hyundai and Kia describe their creation:

A standard drive system utilizing a daily CV joint suffers from a lower in effectivity and sturdiness because the angle of drive shaft deflection will increase when touring over bumpy, undulating surfaces. Uni Wheel can transmit energy with nearly no change to effectivity no matter wheel motion, guaranteeing excessive sturdiness and experience consolation.

When mixed with digital air suspension that may modify experience peak based on the driving scenario, this may be elevated to stabilize the automobile on tough roads or decreased for high-speed driving to enhance energy and stability.

It’s a reasonably attention-grabbing idea that’s completely different from an in-wheel motor which provides much more complexity to the combination. It’s additionally not the primary time Hyundai has proven an idea which may make life simpler for future EV drivers, with its Mobis division showcasing the so-called e-Nook System that permits 360-degree turns.

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