Demonstrating an active vibration isolation system

1. A method of operating an active suspension system in a vehicle, comprising:

obtaining a motion profile representative of motion experienced by a surface in a first vehicle when the first vehicle is being driven;

operating an active suspension system in a second vehicle to induce motion of a surface in the second vehicle when the second vehicle is not being driven, wherein the induced motion is at least partially based on the motion profile;

operating the active suspension system to at least partially mitigate transfer of road induced vibrations to the surface in the second vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first vehicle has a passive suspension system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface in the first vehicle is a surface of a seat in the first vehicle and the surface in the second vehicle is a surface of a seat in the second vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the motion profile includes a quantity selected from the group consisting of an acceleration, a velocity, and a position of the surface in the first vehicle.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein operating the active suspension system in the second vehicle to induce motion is in a demonstration mode of operation.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising using a user interface to communicate with the active suspension system in the second vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle are the same vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

traversing a road surface with the second vehicle, wherein operating the active suspension system to at least partially mitigate transfer of vibrations to the surface in the second vehicle occurs during traversal of the road surface by the second vehicle.

9. A vehicle comprising:

a seat;

an active suspension system that includes:

at least one actuator;

a processor;

at least one sensor;

a controller; and

computer memory that stores information about a motion profile;

wherein the controller is constructed and arranged to provide a first series of force commands to the at least one actuator to induce a motion of the seat, based at least in part on the information, when the vehicle is not being driven, and to provide a second series of force commands to the at least one actuator to mitigate a motion of the seat, based at least on measurements by the at least one sensor, when the vehicle is being driven.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the motion profile is a function of motion experienced by a passively suspended seat in a vehicle when the vehicle is driven over a section of road.

11. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a user interface constructed and arranged to receive operator input, wherein the first series of force commands are also based partly on the operator input.

12. The active suspension system of claim 11 , wherein the computer memory is selected from the group consisting of non-volatile memory and volatile memory.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the controller and the processor are distinct units.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller and the processor are integrated in a single unit.

15. A method of operating an active suspension system in a vehicle, comprising:

in a first demonstration mode, using the active suspension system in the vehicle to simulate a first response of a first simulated suspension system to a predetermined disturbance; and

in a second demonstration mode, using the active suspension system in the vehicle to simulate a second response of a second simulated suspension system to the predetermined disturbance, wherein the active suspension system of the vehicle is configured and arranged to operate in a normal function mode to isolate a portion of the vehicle from a vibration disturbance.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first response is a first motion of a seat and the second response is a second motion of the seat.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first simulated suspension system is a passive suspension system and the second simulated suspension system is a fully active suspension system.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first simulated suspension system is a semi-active suspension system and the second simulated suspension system is a fully active suspension system.

19. A method of operating an active suspension system in a vehicle, comprising:

accessing, from a storage device, information based on a previously recorded and stored motion profile;

computing a series of force commands based at least in part on the information;

providing the series of force commands to at least one active suspension actuator in the vehicle;

producing a series of forces with the at least one actuator in response to the series of force commands to induce a motion in a portion of the vehicle;

traversing a road surface with the vehicle;

during traversal of the road surface with the vehicle, operating the at least one actuator to at least partially mitigate transfer of vibrations to the portion of the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the portion of the vehicle is a plant in the vehicle.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the plant is a seat.

22. An active suspension system in a vehicle, comprising:

at least one actuator;

a controller; and,

computer memory that stores a previously recorded motion profile;

wherein the controller is configured to control the at least one actuator to induce motion in the portion of the vehicle based at least partly on the motion profile when the vehicle is not being driven and to mitigate a motion of the portion of the vehicle when the vehicle is being driven.

23. The vehicle of claim 22 , wherein the computer memory is selected from the group consisting of non-volatile memory and volatile memory.

24. The method of claim 22 , wherein the portion of the vehicle is a plant in the vehicle.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the plant is a seat.