Shock absorbers are the type of automotive component you don't think about unless they're not working, and professor emeritus Ronald Goldner at Tufts University, a private research school in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts, and colleague Peter Zerigian within the School of Engineering, rethought the shock to a point where it not only dampens rebound to maintain composure on the road, but also becomes an integral power source to drive the car.

They did so five years ago, and since Goldner has retired, but while the idea was ahead of the curve in 2005, it has now been picked up for commercial use by Electric Truck, LLC.

View Large The Power-Generating Shock Absorber (PGSA) converts compressive energy into electricity that can be stored in a hybrid electric vehicle's battery pack. Photograph by : Handout photo  

Goldner and Zerigian created and patented the Power-Generating Shock Absorber (PGSA) which converts compressive energy into electricity that can be stored in a hybrid electric vehicle's battery pack. PGSA is an electromagnetic linear generator that utilizes "magnet arrays, high magnetic permeability spaces, coil winding arrays," says a report in Gizmag. A linear electric motor captures energy.
 
Think of a shock absorber as a piston moving up and down with the dips and bumps of a given road, a process that creates friction that gets neutralized by oil, so that it doesn't wear out too quickly. The PGSA's linear electric motor converts the magnetic field that comes from the up and down motion into electricity, or more specifically (in brainiac speak) it "uses an electromagnetic linear generator to convert variable frequency, repetitive intermittent linear displacement motion to useful electrical power," says Gizmag.
 
The reason why PGSA technology may see the light of day is its ease of integration. Pretty well any hybrid could make use of the system to complement regenerative braking, for instance, therefore improving range when under full electric power and reducing the use of fossil fuels.
 
Tufts points out that while the technology is useful for hybrid cars, it might have greater potential within the heavy truck industry where brakes are used more often due to higher loads.
 
"The percentage of recoverable power/energy for a 2,500 lb vehicle that employs four optimized design regenerative magnetic shock absorbers and whose average speed is 45 mph on a typical US highway is likely to be between 20-percent and 70-percent," said a Tufts Journal report.
 
Electric Truck is one thing, but to really gain traction the PGSA technology needs to be adapted by mainstream hybrid players such as Toyota, GM, Honda and/or Ford, and if it does what Tufts say it does, it won't be too long before we'll see it in production cars.
 
Tufts recently received patents for two more of Goldner's concepts. The first is for enhancements to "smart" windows, allowing them to transmit or reflect energy more efficiently. Smart windows can be engineered to darken or lighten, depending on sunlight, just as some polarized eyeglasses do, and Goldner's idea makes it so the end user could more finely tune the tinting process. Goldner's second patent is a thin-film battery that could replace the current batteries used in cell phones, laptops and electric vehicles, etc.
 
"In many respects, Ron Goldner was truly ahead of his time," commented Martin Son, associate director of the Tufts Office for Technology and Industry Collaboration.