alt Hacker NewsI think Clearmotion has a very interesting technology and product (ride stabilization), but let's paint a full picture here: the company was founded in 2009, took on $370 million in funding, and only recently landed large contracts (a $1 billion dollar deal in 2023 with Chinese auto manufacturer, Nio).
I'm sure they were in a constant struggle for survival and had to "move fast" to stay afloat, but their technology is more than a decade in the making.
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rryan • today at 4:51 PM
I think the super long timelines in automotive make it really hard to succeed. Really impressed with what ClearMotion accomplished given that
I would venture a guess that there is little interest in adding complexity to the humble shock absorber. A simple passive mechanical system is replaced with a complex servomechanism featuring sensors and actuators which live a hard life under a car.
What is the longevity vs a passive system? How much is it to service vs standard suspension? How much does this change the overall suspension design? How much weight does it add? I bet the answers to those questions since 2009 were not at all enticing to automotive designers or bean counters.
Personally, I would not want such a system on my car. It sounds like another expensive maintenance item you have to deal with that adds little or no value.