SAN DIEGO, CA (BRAIN)—Fallbrook Technologies’ NuVinci continuously variable planetary transmission (CVP) is one of the winners of the R&D 100 Awards, which are given every year by R&D magazine to the 100 most technologically significant products of the year.
“This award is a major recognition of the NuVinci CVP’s significance in the field of advanced transmission technology,” said William Klehm, Fallbrook’s president and chief executive officer. “We’ve always said that this technology will change the way transmission-based devices are designed and built. We’re very proud to have been chosen as one of this year’s winners.”
The NuVinci CVP uses a set of rotating and tilting balls positioned between the input and output components of a transmission that tilt to vary the speed of the transmission. Tilting the balls changes their contact diameters and varies the speed ratio. Current commercial applications of the NuVinci CVP include bicycles and light electric vehicles with additional commercial applications currently under development. NuVinci bicycle and light electric vehicle (LEV) CVP drivetrains are manufactured by Aftermarket Technology Corp.
The R&D 100 Awards are one of the most prestigious honors in the field of industrial research. Winners are selected by an independent panel of experts and by the editors of R&D magazine. The R&D 100 Awards were established in 1963. Over the years, the Awards have recognized products such as Polacolor film (1963), the automated teller machine (ATM) (1973), the halogen lamp (1974), the fax machine (1975) and the liquid crystal display (LCD) (1980). —Matt Wiebe
