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Risheng Magnets International Co., Ltd.
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News
We live in a world where satellites and microprocessors can tell us how to get anywhere we want to go, but Volvo believes the future of transportation lies with something much simpler: magnets.
Yes, magnets. Volvo argues that magnets, unlike electronic transmission, are unfazed by poor weather conditions or obstacles in the road, so they can reliably guide vehicles along the road. It recently completed a research project to test the theory, using a road embedded with magnets and a vehicle outfitted with specialized sensors to determine how accurately and reliably the car could discern its position.
Volvo tested its theory at its test grounds in Hällered, Sweden. One of the biggest challenges was developing sensors capable of receiving data while speeding over a small magnet. Engineers calculated that a car traveling just over 90 mph would need a sampling rate of at least 400 readings per second. Typical magnetic sensors can only handle about three samples per second and need to be within centimeters of the magnet they're detecting.
Despite the positive results, Volvo realizes the idea sounds a bit preposterous. So it included some calculations showing the economic feasibility of this kind of system. The sensor rig, if made to a scale of 50,000 units, would cost about $109 per unit. The infrastructure overhaul for a major highway comes to about $24,405 per kilometer. That buys you seven parallel lines of magnets spaced 2.8 meters apart along a typical two-lane road.
