ClearMotion Bringing Bose-Developed Active Suspension To The Market

More than three decades ago, the audio specialists at Bose developed a revolutionary suspension system dubbed ‘Project Sound.’ Unfortunately, the technology never made it to production, but it may see the light of day after all.

The Bose system useds a modified MacPherson struct assembly complete with magnets, motors and controllers. Whereas traditional suspension systems use springs, shocks and control arms to react to surface changes in the road, the proactive suspension from Bose could read the road ahead and react accordingly. The result was an almost perfect-smooth ride over rough surfaces and virtually no body roll when cornering.

Last year, Massachusetts startup ClearMotion purchased all of this suspension technology from Bose and intends on making it viable for production. The company has already raised $100 million and is currently tweaking and reducing the size of Bose’s system to be only slightly larger than a traditional set of shocks. Dubbed ActiValve, the suspension uses magnets, motors and controllers just like ‘Project Sound.’

ClearMotion has been working with the likes of Bridgestone and Qualcomm to make the technology viable for production, and sees a world where autonomous vehicles will use its suspension.

That’s because the firm believes customers of fully-autonomous vehicles will demand smooth rides to allow them to do other things, such as work, while commuting.

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