A history of research

Bose is best known for creating high-performance audio products, but our research activities go well beyond sound. Our technologies extend from regulating electric power in airplanes to controlling fuel rods inside nuclear reactors to building testing machines for medical devices. And for over two decades, we have been researching a new system for automobile suspensions.

The challenge

Conventional automobile suspensions have two conflicting goals: passenger comfort and vehicle control. Current suspensions designed with an emphasis on passenger comfort, as in typical luxury sedans, deliver a smooth ride but allow the car to roll and pitch during cornering and braking. Suspensions emphasizing vehicle control, as in sports cars, reduce roll and pitch but sacrifice comfort.

A new approach

The research program began in 1980 with five years of mathematical analysis to determine the optimum suspension performance, ignoring the limitations of any existing suspension hardware. This analysis indicated that a much higher level of performance could be obtained than that provided by systems using variable dampers and springs or hydraulics. The five-year theoretical study led to electromagnetics as the one approach that could realize the desired suspension characteristics.

The Bose suspension

The proprietary Bose suspension system couples linear electromagnetic motors and power amplifiers with a set of unique control algorithms. For the first time, it is possible to have, in the same automobile, a much smoother ride than in any luxury sedan and less roll and pitch than in any sports car. The Bose research vehicle provides superior comfort by gliding smoothly over bumpy roads and superior control by keeping the car body level during aggressive maneuvers.