Audi has filed a new patent in its home country of Germany, wherein the automaker notes some key characteristics of electric vehicles that could make them relatively easy to convert into watercraft. Firstly, EVs “must protect the traction batteries against water ingress and therefore have extensive sealing measures in the underbody area.” Secondly, many EVs do not require openings for radiators and other passive cooling systems, and that means the front can be sealed too. In addition, EVs can have independently operable wheels.
90-Degree Propeller Wheels and Floatation Features
The patent makes extensive mention of other patents, bringing several ideas together in one package. Audi notes that designs for wheels with low air resistance already exist, some of which have movable spokes to create increased turbulence for brake cooling. It also calls attention to an amphibious vehicle patent where the wheel hub motor has spokes in the shape of a propeller, with the wheels “folded” by 90 degrees when the AV is on water. Finally, Audi also notes an amphibious bicycle with a base board that floats but can be detached from the bike frame manually.
Combining these ideas with a water detection sensor to close any lower openings and prepare the car for its transformation leads us to a vehicle, preferably with four-wheel drive, that can be brought to a body of water and have “at least one buoyancy body” attached to it. A pneumatic pump inside the vehicle would supply compressed air (which is always useful in an off-road environment) to this floatation assistance device. The car would then be ready to enter the water, and once the entire car is in, Audi notes that suspension droop would enable the wheels to be positioned considerably lower than the vehicle body. Now they can transform their spokes into propellers and begin to drive the vehicle forward.
Land-to-Water Maneuvering Made Simple
Hyunda’s Mobion Concept has shown how wheels that rotate by 90 degrees can enable easy manoeuvrability on land, particularly in parallel parking scenarios, and it has shown that complex shapes can be possible for adaptive wheel spokes. Essentially, the foundations for Audi’s patent to come to life are relatively simple, and although there will certainly be challenges in making it all work together (including preventing rust), there are also several reasons why it could be practical.
EVs tend to have their weight concentrated along the floor of a car, so there would be no need to counterbalance the heft of an engine as the car enters the water. Audi even notes that it would allow the system to function like a car, meaning you wouldn’t need to learn any other controls, or steer in the opposite direction like on a small skiff – just turn the wheel in the direction you want, put your foot down, and these 90-degree rotatable hub wheels with propeller-shaped spokes could make it happen.
