World's First Road Embedded Wireless Electric Bus Network Opens

[kristopher]

World's First Road Embedded Wireless Electric Bus Network Opens [VIDEO]

Two cordless rechargeable Hyundai battery electric buses have been put in service this week in a pilot program in Gumi, South Korea.

The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is an electric vehicle that can be charged while stationary or driving, thus removing the need to stop at a charging station. Likewise, an OLEV tram does not require pantographs to feed power from electric wires strung above the tram route.

Two OLEV buses will run an inner city route between Gumi Train Station and In-dong district, for a total of 24 km roundtrip. The bus will receive 20 kHz and 100 kW (136 horsepower) electricity at an 85% maximum power transmission efficiency rate while maintaining a 17cm air gap between the underbody of the vehicle and the road surface.

OLEV is a groundbreaking technology that accelerates the development of purely electric vehicles as a viable option for future transportation systems, be they personal vehicles or public transit. This is accomplished by solving technological issues that limit the commercialization of electric vehicles such as price, weight, volume, driving distance, and lack of charging infrastructure.

OLEV receives power wirelessly through the application of the "Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR)" technology. SMFIR is a new technology introduced by KAIST that enables electric vehicles to transfer electricity wirelessly from the road surface while moving.

Power comes from the electrical cables buried under the surface of the road, creating magnetic fields. There is a receiving ...

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[patricia92243]

1. Sounds great! But I know in my town if a bus didn't pull over to the curb to let people

on/off the bus, car drivers would have a hissyfit.

[phantom power]

2. 100kW, that is some beefy wireless power

[msongs]

3. so what do they do when there is a power outage, get out and push? nt

[BlueStreak]

4. I believe the buses have some battery capacity on board

Yes, if an entire region is without power, the buses wouldn't run very long. But in that scenario, I don't think buses are the biggest concern. I would think ambulances and fire trucks first.

The much more common case is a substation going down. presumably the buses would have enough battery power to get to the next substation, which is probably only a mile away. Likewise, the batteries would allow them to cover routes where only 15% of the route is actually electrified.

If this proves viable, I can imagine a future scenario where Interstate highways have "charging lanes" every 30 miles or so. They could easily be set up as toll lanes using currently available technology. In mountainous areas, imagine a charging lane as you are starting up the grade. You wouldn't need it on the downhill side, of course.

[formercia]

6. On the Downhill side

regenerative braking would charge the Batteries.

[BlueStreak]

7. Right, so you would only need charging for part of the uphill side

Ideally the batteries would be below 50% at the peak of the mountain so there is somewhere to store the energy on the downhill side.

A system like this would make long haul EV driving very convenient. And if we could build the recharge lanes frequently enough, this would work for 18-wheelers too. That's probably a 2030 proposition for big trucks.

[FBaggins]

5. Keep in mind that power outages would be much less likely.

If the technology pans out and cities build out significant bus networks like this, they would probably select dedicated generation (backed up by the grid) and power distribution would be much less prone to damage (being largely - or even entirely - underground).

So you could easily see widespread power outages... yet operational transit systems.

This isn't all that uncommon. Many subway/streetcar systems have their own substations and usually enough power to get the trains back to the yard. And in those cases, you usually have far more exposted power distribution.

[diverdownjt]

8. Solar input anywhere on the route would also be possible.

Also would help when the grid is suffering or failing. Don't forget the wind. An
integrated system would have few power failures. Consider a bus stop that had solar
and wind charged batteries that help the grid recharge the vehicle when stopped
for passenger pick up.

The possibilities are endless.......