Making hydraulic brakes obsolete?

In one webinar, I heard it suggested (I think by Nathan) that it might be possible to remove the hydraulic brakes entirely. Is there any chance this can happen on the Aptera?

If so, this would be amazing. To see those clunky hydraulic pumps, lines, pads, discs and dirty fluids disappear, would just be so satisfying, and could reduce costs too. :)

39 comments

39 Comments

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kiteboarder

Jul 25, 2021

I don't see why a parking pawl is a lot of additional engineering work. I'd think it could be just a solenoid like my car has, but mounted at the wheel (where the brake caliper used to be?), with its pin going into one of a set of slots or holes in the motor's rotor.

I wonder what other hub-motor vehicles use for "park". Every car I've ever seen has that, even though there's also a parking brake.

Ken Kobayashi

Jul 27, 2021

Replying to

A parking pawl is a lot of engineering work because (1) it's a mechanism, (2) it's a new design rather than a modification of an existing design, (3) it likely requires modifying the motor, which means the motor design must be verified and validated all over again, (4) if's a safety-critical component, which requires fail-safe/redundant design and extensive testing, and (5) if it malfunctions (i.e. engages while the car is in motion), it can have disastrous consequences, so again, it needs extensive testing.