Tesla Motors has just updated their blog, this time with a post from Greg Solberg, who is Tesla Motors Firmware Engineer. The post is all about regenerative braking. Just like most of the other posts at the Tesla Motors blog, this one is quite informative and offers us all a glimpse into just what it takes to get a vehicle from the drawing board to customer hands on the road.

Regenerative braking is often a misunderstood part of electric cars. Almost everybody knows that electric cars can have regenerative braking, but most are unaware of just what is happening in the process of slowing the vehicle down. In fact, I would guess that there is a large number of drivers who don't even know what is happening when normal disk or drum brakes are slowing down their car. I think that many would find it interesting to know that much of the work going on at Tesla to make regenerative braking work properly is being done in software. The motor controller of any electric car is in charge of making the regen power recharge the batteries, just as it is in charge of making the battery charge provide forward motion. So, just as the power profile of the vehicle can be "tuned", the reverse is also true, and the braking force can be "tuned" as well. As Greg writes, there are differing opinions on how the regenerative braking should feel. Good reading, if you ask me.

Perhaps it is also worth noting that other manufacturers have worked through these same compromises already. For instance, check out Sebastian's post on riding in the Phoenix Motorcars SUT. Vectrix has done something completely new with their electric scooter, where regenerative braking occurs when the throttle is moved backwards, leaving the normal brake lever alone. There's more than one way to... you know the rest.

[Source: Tesla Motors blog]

This type of trickle-down technology makes perfect sense in the real world driving conditions that most of us encounter each and every day of our lives. Hybrids have been using regenerative braking for quite some time now as a fuel saving measure. In those applications, the electric motor or motors that help provide motive functions for the vehicle work as generators when braking force, or "drag" is applied to them, which charges the batteries. In vehicles like the new BMW 3 Series which does not use any electric motors, the alternator, which has long been used in vehicles to keep the battery charged, is selectively engaged or disengaged, and acts as both a "brake" and as a method of charging the batteries and saving gas. As a bonus, when the alternator is disengaged from the engine, the normal "drag" on the engine is eliminated, allowing for more power from the engine going to the wheels. Hooray for trickle-down hybrid technology!

Related:

• Trickle-down tech: Non-hybrid BMW 5 Series to feature regenerative braking

[Source: Motor Authority]