Bose's Awesome 'Magic Carpet' Suspension Is Making Production At Last

While most of us have already witnessed the incredible proactive suspension system developed by Bose in the 1990s, we never thought it would make production!

Matt Kimberley

15 May 2018

The incredible proactive suspension system developed in the 1990s by Bose might actually see production after all, and we’re losing our minds with excitement.

The video below is a handy reminder of just how awesome the system was. Watch and gawp, Ctzens, even if you’ve seen it before. While weight and cost killed it off at the time, it was simply too incredible not to keep in mind for the future.

Enter US firm Clearmotion, which has bought the rights to the control software developed by Bose. Combining it with the latest in dampers air suspension the firm has been able to fashion a commercially viable setup that’s said to have caught the eyes of five major car makers - whose identities are being kept secret, for now.

Now renamed the ‘digital chassis system,’ it’s being dubbed ‘the fastest proactive ride system that exists today’ by Clearmotion’s CEO, Shak Avadhany. He said:

“In our system, we equip the damper with an active valve that allows the fluid inside to pass in and out. We have real-time accelerometers that are reading the road and reacting instantly, with motors providing the car with unparalleled ride quality.
“It really delivers an almost instantaneous level of isolation that’s so noticeable you’d feel the difference in the first 10 feet of driving.”

Bose's Awesome 'Magic Carpet' Suspension Is Making Production At Last

By using dual-function dampers that also work as actuators, the software is able to extend and retract the suspension in near-perfect sync with the road surface. Much of the development has been done in the UK because of its skilled engineering sector – and its ridiculously rubbish road surfaces.

A production target of 2019 has been set, and we can’t wait.

Source: Autocar

Comments

But, does it still jump like the original?

I would expect better stock suspension from this “ultimate driving machine”

Bose’s system was electromechanical. It had virtually zero lag.
Hydraulics, on the other hand, have to contend with the relatively “slow” flow of fluid.
It’s a step in the right direction, but it won’t be nearly as responsive as the original Bose design.

That being said, the electromechanical actuators were probably extremely heavy and not as reliable as hydraulics, so there’s that.