Hyundai develops Active Shift Control technology for hybrids

The Active Shift Control (ASC) technology is said to reduce gear-shift times by about 30%, besides making the shifts smoother.

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) has had another breakthrough in automotive technology, this time, to improve the efficiency of hybrid vehicles. Now ready for mass-production, the Active Shift Control (ASC) technology helps in improving gear change efficiency of a hybrid vehicle. By reducing gear-shift times (by about 30%), the system not only makes the process more efficient but it also contributes to an overall increase in the car's fuel efficiency, while also making the gear changes noticeably smoother.

In brief, the ASC works in tandem with the Hybrid Control Unit (HCU), the motor & the gearbox. With the help of a sensor located inside the electric motor, the HCU monitors the rotations of the transmission. Thus, the ASC protocol allows the HCU to automatically synchronise the rotation speed of the engine with that of the transmission, for faster gear changes. As the HCU monitors the gear changes 500 times per second, the process is optimised to provide maximum efficiency.

A 30% reduction results in the gear change time dropping from 500 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds. As per Hyundai, the ASC helps to compensate for the missing torque converter gearboxes in conventional hybrid vehicles (which are avoided to keep the vehicle weight down).

The new technology will debut with the upcoming Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. From there, it will find its way on to other Hyundai & Kia hybrid models.

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