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Source: AUTOCAR post
TEL AVIV – The following is excerpted from an AUTOCAR post by Jesse Crosse providing an overview of the “skateboard” chassis concept developed by REE Automotive of Tel Aviv. This electric-vehicle platform puts all major componentry – motors, steering and braking – at the four corners, connecting everything electronically, allowing virtually unlimited configurations for people and cargo within the vehicle’s dimensions.
Poised on the verge of a new era though we might be some aspects of vehicle design and engineering are still stuck in the dark ages. The future will be all about electric powertrains – that’s a given – but cars still rely on hydraulic systems for braking, a steering rack mounted across the chassis and hydraulic brake calipers at each corner. Driveshafts run from a transmission to drive wheels and four-wheel-drive cars need an additional transmission system to distribute torque to all four wheels.
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With no liquid fuel or exhaust systems to worry about in an EV, the opportunity is there to move everything needed to make a car go, steer and stop to its corners, freeing up all the space between the wheels for passengers and luggage or cargo. Tel Aviv firm REE Automotive, which recently announced plans to open a center of excellence at the MIRA Technology Park near Nuneaton, is well on the way with its Reeboard and Reecorner chassis technology. REE’s specialty is a modular skateboard chassis that can be used for everything from cars to light trucks. Reecorner packages steering, braking, suspension, electric drive motor-generator and controller inside each wheel arch. The battery system is located inside the flat skateboard, with nothing to clutter the space between the wheels as the powertrain does with a conventional EV.
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The system also incorporates its own electronic control unit coupled to the main vehicle ECU and AI sensing to provide preventative maintenance, as well as single-wheel brake-by-wire with adaptive regeneration. An ingenious suspension linkage is concealed entirely inside the wheel rim and electrical power is delivered via cables from the chassis.
The entire post can be viewed by clicking HERE.
