Wireless Electricity?

[littlemissmartypants]

WiTricity, a small startup based outside of Boston, is developing a system that can transmit electricity wirelessly. The company hopes the system will make charging electric cars easy, eliminating the need for bulky cables. What impact might this have on the electric vehicle market? Using a new wireless charging system, plug-in electric cars may be able to shed their power cables entirely.

Wireless charging system pictured here. Listen to the podcast here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/wireless-electricity-au.html

[dorksied]

1. Nikola Tesla would be proud.

[RoccoR5955]

20. +1 n/t

[Dan de Lyons]

2. Not a likely winner

Tesla proposed radio-powered roller skates.

Problem is, radiated energy diminishes dramatically with distance. Beamed energy, like microwave or laser, works a little better. But a lot of energy is wasted when you don't have a direct connection.

The wireless charger pictured would probably work a lot better if it was right up against the car. The car is getting maybe 1/10 of the energy it is sending into the world.

[2on2u]

3. They have achieved over 90% efficiency to date, that is as good as plugging in directly.

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/235583/2/Wireless-electric-vehicle-charging-a-future-thanks-to-ORNL-project

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/nov/02/larisa-brass-wireless-charging-in-development/
Although other research groups are working on the problem, Olszewski and Matthew Scudiere, a retired researcher at the NTRC who came up with the idea and is leading its development for ORNL on a contract basis, said their technology offers an efficient charge - 90 percent or more, depending on how far the battery sits from the charging station. That's as efficient as plugging the car directly into an outlet - without requiring cumbersome add-on technology for the car or too much precision on the part of the driver.


Objective for FY11
• Develop an efficient method for transferring large power
levels over moderate distances in stationary setting
– Loosely coupled magnetic resonant transformers have the potential to
accomplish this goal.
– Target for Vehicle application: Level II 3.6kW, 200mm gap @ >90% efficiency

Overall program
• Wireless charging of PEV stationary and dynamic conditions
– Demonstrate 90% transfer efficiency from plug to battery at SAE J1772 Level II
power of 3.6kW to 19kW.
– Comply with SAE J2954 Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) emissions guidelines of
500uT in active zone and <62.5mG outside the active zone.
– Target for Vehicle application: Level III >60kW to vehicle in motion.

[bongbong]

26. Not quite

This is an interesting application of well-known principles, but your statement "as good as plugging in directly" is incorrect. Unless you're using wiring or connections that are too small (and thus producing heat under load) plugging in directly is 99+% efficient.

[mojowork_n]

10. Like these Lithium ion R-Skates?

http://hacknmod.com/hack/fantastic-motorized-shoes-the-ishoe/

[div class ="excerpt"]
How do the iShoes work?
You simply strap them onto your shoes, and with the handheld control be able to travel at speeds up to 13.5mph.

How would someone benefit from using the iShoes?
The iShoes are benificial because they move you at speed faster than walking. A 20 minute walk, is 5 a minute ride on the iShoes.

How are they controlled?
You simply push the handheld button to accelerate, and ease up to engage the electronic brake.

How far can they go?
The iShoes can go 2-3 miles or 30 minutes of casual riding on a single charge.

[demwing]

11. Notice that the car is on blocks

presumably so that you can see the devices. Without the blocks the car and the charger would be only a few inches apart.

[Plucketeer]

12. Remember the Wrights?

Remember their pathetically delicate wood and fabric flyer. Wonder what that ever led to???

[Plucketeer]

19. Sand dunes ARE rock

Yeah, they crashed the first flyer - several times actually. Planes still crash to this day. But so many of them whiz us around the globe and serve us as weapons of war (DISserve, really). Thing is, from that first, humble (crashed) airplane we've come a long way with aviation. Look for electric auto advancements that will make today's efforts in such look downright stone age.

[2on2u]

4. Kicked and recced. n/t

[littlemissmartypants]

17. Thank you.

[2on2u]

18. Welcome, your sig pic could eventually make me ill but I like it just the same. n/t

[Heather MC]

5. Great Idea but....

What's the price tag? I read about more and more car companies getting into the electric car business. But I am not the type of person that will spend 40, 50, 100k on a car.

So as much as I would love to help the environment by getting an electric car.

My personal economy can't handle the expense. It might be a great cure, but if it's not affordable, most people will keep the disease.

[AdHocSolver]

14. Electric vehicles have the potential of being much less expensive to buy and operate.

Electric vehicles have fewer parts and don't waste most of their energy input as unusable heat.

Electric vehicles don't require complex transmission systems, nor complex cooling systems, nor complex fuel injection systems, nor expensive ignition systems.

Since there are considerably fewer parts, economies of scale in manufacturing can eventually bring the cost of such a vehicle down to a level much lower than that of a conventional internal combustion engine powered car.

Maintenance is much simpler and that would be a money saver there as well.

Once the recharging issue is solved, the cost of buying and operating an electric vehicle will drop considerably.

[Heather MC]

21. Well once it drops I am all in, until then

I will keep buying used cars for 10K or less from my Brother! And I am 37 I have only owned 3 cars in my life. I drive them til they look like the Blues Brothers's car at the end of the movie. then I get another one

[bongbong]

27. Depends

> Electric vehicles have fewer parts and don't waste most of their energy input as unusable heat.

Pretty much correct, with a few caveats about Carnot cycle heat engine specifics.

> Electric vehicles don't require complex transmission systems, nor complex cooling systems, nor complex fuel injection systems, nor expensive ignition systems.

Transmission needs depends on the torque characteristics of the motor.
Some electric vehicles need complex cooling systems for the batteries.
Obviously correct about fuel injection & ignition systems.

> Since there are considerably fewer parts, economies of scale in manufacturing can eventually bring the cost of such a vehicle down to a level much lower than that of a conventional internal combustion engine powered car.

Costs are only partly dependent on number of parts. The extreme counter example would be a one-part engine, but that one part had to be made out of platinum. The motors used in today's electrics do have some expensive metals in them, although their cost will probably drop as economy of scale factors come into play.

> Maintenance is much simpler and that would be a money saver there as well.

Depends on how much the electric motor parts are stressed (both design stresses & duty cycle stress)

> Once the recharging issue is solved, the cost of buying and operating an electric vehicle will drop considerably.

Correct, and an obvious historical analogy from the fact that until there were plentiful gas stations, the car was a plaything of the rich (among other reasons)

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Thank you 2on2 for the additions

the wireless system is the focus here, as for the cost of the cars themselves, IDK. But i do drive a petrol user that gets almost 50 mpg on the highway, 48.7 to be exact from last trip. But mileage is influenced by several variables of course. We only have one place I know of here in NC that even has charging stations. That to me is of greater concern than the cost of the car. Thoughts anyone?

[drm604]

7. What's the point? You're not actually eliminating cables, which the article implies.

You still need to plug in the charging system which, as the picture shows, goes right under the car. So you'd still need the same length cable.

It would still be necessary to park near a power source. Plus, there's bound to be some loss in the transmission. So what's gained here? You've eliminated the necessity of actually having to physically plug a cable into the car, but you can do that quickly anyway, and you end up wasting energy.

So what's the point?

[formercia]

8. So you won't rip out the cable

and perhaps burn your House down when forgetting to unplug the charger before driving off.

Gas Stations sometimes have the same problem with people driving off with the fill hose still connected.

If there's a possible point of failure, someone will find it.

I find the large Air gap problematic as well.

[mojowork_n]

9. My toothbrush charges through space (and/or, some plastic).

A lot of small, rechargeable appliances do, too.

It's worth a try if it saves weight on the car, and simplifies the hookup.

[bongbong]

28. Scale is the factor

If you're charging in the watt range, you don't care about losses.

Not so true if you're charging on the kilowatt level.

[reACTIONary]

13. It would be a good device for charging at parking lots while shopping...

... but for at-home use, plugging in isn't that much of a problem.

[greiner3]

15. There's tests being conducted;

By M.I.T., I believe, that will allow wireless home electrical devices. They have to be within about 2 feet of a wall, but how many aren't?

[littlemissmartypants]

22. WiTricity on the web

In addition to the Industrial, consumer electronic and transportation applications for this according to the web site for the company some of the other Applications are...

Direct wireless power interconnections and automatic wireless charging for implantable medical devices (ventricular assist devices, pacemaker, defibrilator, etc.).

Automatic wireless charging and for high tech military systems (battery powered mobile devices, covert sensors, unmanned mobile robots and aircraft, etc.).

Direct wireless powering and automatic wireless charging of smart cards.

Direct wireless powering and automatic wireless charging of consumer appliances, mobile robots, etc.
http://witricity.com/index.html

[littlemissmartypants]

23. Here is the video

&feature=player_embedded#!

[littlemissmartypants]

24. I started reading more about this and it made me think of

The heart’s electromagnetic field--by far the most powerful rhythmic field produced by the human body--not only envelops every cell of the body but also extends out in all directions into the space around us. The cardiac field can be measured several feet away from the body by sensitive devices. Research conducted at IHM suggests that the heart’s field is an important carrier of information.

[littlemissmartypants]

25. Here is the link for that graph and the title of the article

http://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/head-heart-interactions.html

Science of The Heart: Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance
An Overview of Research Conducted by the Institute of HeartMath

[Eleanors38]

29. Harking back to Tesla, Henry Schlesinger in his 2010 "The Battery," reports on...

experiments where some small devices (at this time) can be powered by existing emissions from power lines, transformers and the like. This scavenger system may be quite useful for businesses/homes which are located next to these common installations. Apparently, neither wires, nor directed "beams" are necessary.

[BlueStreak]

30. Allow me to predict the future

We will eventually see something like this built into our highway system. There could be "charging lanes" on the highway. Maybe the lane would run 1/2 mile and as you drove in that section, you would take on enough electricity to go another 40 miles.

It would be the 21st century equivalent of the old electric trolley system.

It could easily be paid for using the same technology used for toll road collection today.

[littlemissmartypants]

31. BlueStreak

I like the way you think.

[BlueStreak]

32. It isn't really a new idea.

In the early 1900s -- really up through mid-century in some cities, there were electrified trolly lines,. And electrified bus routes were quite common, and some are still in use. I think Seattle still runs about 100 of these buses and I am sure there are others.



There are conductors reaching up from the rear of the buses to contact overhead electrical lines. I am not positive, but I think these buses have on-board batteries that can take them a few blocks between electrified lines. Adapting this to passenger cars and a safer inductive system would not be a giant intellectual leap. It would be a large project to electrify our interstate highways, but that could be well worth the effort, especially for the 18-wheelers that suck up enormous amounts of Diesel fuel.

One can easily imagine solar arrays and wind farms near the highways providing most of this power.

[Starboard Tack]

33. I like your vision there. Exactly what I was thinking.

This is the kind of infrastructure we need to be thinking about if we want to maintain our standard of living and be free from dependence on fossil fuels.

[BlueStreak]

34. And this connects directly with the vision of self-driving cars

There is lots of discussion about autonomously driven cars this week. Part of that intelligence would be energy management. The control system could be smart enough to navigate to "booster routes". If your destination is 10 miles away and you have a 40 mile battery range, the system need not look for any more energy. If you are going 30 miles, then the system might try to park at a location with a charging station. Etc.