Fluid Power in Everyday Applications

Hello everyone. Growing up, motorsports were always big in our family, similar to football in many American homes. I've closely followed Formula One racing better known as F1 so I naturally love everything-cars. F1 cars are the most advanced cars in any form of motor racing constantly making technology breakthroughs that years later make it to road cars. In 1993, the Williams F1 racing team produced a new technology called active suspension. The advantage in pace brought by this technology caught the other 12 teams wrong footed and Alain Prost of the Williams team obliterated his competition, taking 13 pole positions out of possible 16 and winning the 1993 championship. Consequently, the active suspension was banned from the 1994 season onward by the FIA, the racing governing body, due to the unfair pace advantage the new technology brought. The active suspension technology has since found its way into road cars, this YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiLEECJB-Zo) demonstrates the active suspension as used by Mercedes Benz road cars; all the other major car manufactures have their own version electronic suspension. Before I started working in this lab, I didn't know this amazing technology was due to fluid power. Hydraulics and electronic valve controls are very relevant topics to the research that's currently going on in my lab. I can't wait to learn more about other uses of fluid power as I continue on with my research.