Aussie start-up invents active wheel alignment

An Australian automotive start-up has developed an active wheel alignment system that it believes could eventually become as common as anti-lock brakes.

AWAS can be fitted to new cars or retrofitted and was developed by Victorian-based Doftek, which expects to secure a deal for the technology with a major European car manufacturer before the end of 2020.

It has also confirmed ongoing negotiations with at least two other major brands.

The system is ready to enter OEM (car-maker) development so it could potentially enter production and become available in new vehicles within three years.

Initial take-up is expected in the sports and luxury segment, with electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles also likely to be early adopters.

Doftek co-founder Dr Geoff Rogers predicted AWAS could be embraced more quickly by car-makers than ABS was.

“I think we are in a different time. The conversations we have with OEMs is they need to see the volume play before they pick up a new piece of tech and just have it on their sports or luxury vehicles,” he said.

“But once they are convinced it has applicability to their EV range and their future mobility range and things like that … they will implement it to their sports and luxury vehicles first and then have it trickle down from there,”

AWAS is claimed to deliver multiple benefits ranging from better handling to improved fuel economy and reduced noise, vibration and harshness.

Primarily, OEMs are focussed on the improvement in refinement and the reduction in consumption that AWAS can deliver, Dr Rogers said.

Traditionally, the wheel alignment of a vehicle is set only when it is produced and when it is fitted with new tyres.

But by relying on feedback from the vehicle’s acceleration, braking and other system sensors, an electromechanical device developed by Doftek can adjust wheel alignment on the move, maintaining maximum tyre contact patch.

Doftek claims a 15 per cent improvement in handling, a 10 per cent reduction in rolling resistance and a 10 per cent-plus reduction in peak tyre temperatures and therefore wear.

AWAS can also be used for rear-wheel steering and redundant steering back-up.

Doftek is claiming a reduction in fuel consumption for orthodox internal combustion-powered vehicles and increased range for electric vehicles.

At this stage it cannot quantify those latter claims because plans to test in a rolling road emissions lab in Europe have been foiled by COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The pandemic has also delayed the completion of its deal with the unspecified European vehicle brand and a Tier 1 supplier that would manufacture the system on Doftek’s behalf.

AWAS works with all orthodox suspension systems, on both the front and back axles, and comprises only an ECU and a couple of replacement components per corner.

Unlike previous attempts at such systems, AWAS adds negligible weight and is not costly.

“The costs are not prohibitively expensive from a serial production perspective and they are on par with other systems that are fitted into cars like magnetic suspension systems and rear-wheel steering,” said Dr Rogers.

“We benchmark well against them so we are cost-effective for OEMs.”

AWAS is currently being tested by Doftek on a Mercedes-AMG GT S and an Audi TT RS, specifically because those vehicles run different suspension suspensions: the Benz uses double wishbones and TT MacPherson struts.

AWAS is being tested as a selectable on-demand multi-mode system in the Audi and a second-generation real-time adaptive system in the Benz, in which it’s claimed to deliver up to 29 per cent better handling. A further development is differential alignment for each wheel.

AWAS can set wheel toe (latitudinal angle), camber (longitudinal angle) and castor (longitudinal tilt) for maximum economy or performance and many combinations in between.

The founders of Doftek, along with Dr Rogers, are his wife Dr Priscilla Rogers and Dr Paul Dowie. All three are mechanical engineers.

While they have a background in health industry technology development before founding Doftek, they are self-declared ‘petrol-heads’.

Dr Rogers came up with the initial concept in late 2016 when he became frustrated with the lack of easy wheel alignment adjustment in his Audi TT while club racing at the Winton racetrack in Victoria.

The system has been developed with the support of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), a federal government-backed not-for-profit designed to boost innovation, productivity and competitiveness across Australia’s manufacturing industry.

Both Doftek and AMGC are contributing $196,425 to the development of a prototype for car manufacturers to test the concept.