Donut Lab's New Motor Brings Power to the Wheel Hub

When I was 12, I drew electric cars with hub motors like these. In college I took dynamics and started the long wait for lightweight motors. So, I’m kind of jazzed to break out those old sketchs and see what I imagined back then.

Perhaps ironically, I’ve been reviewing similar applications in bow thrusters for a boat. They seem to be a significant improvement (lighter, no axle blocking flow).

What kind of bearings would be used on these? With a traditional setup the bearing are on a relatively small shaft, but on these things they’re 10+ inches out. At the same wheel rate of spin the differential velocity between the surfaces will be 10x, right?