Google is planning to charge a fully automatic driving car wirelessly

It is well known that Google is advancing the development of an electrically operated automatic driving car (self driving car) aiming for practical application in 2020, but Google intends to adopt the wireless power feeding method for this vehicle charging method It is clear that it is.

Google Wants Its Driverless Cars to Be Wireless Too - IEEE Spectrum
http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/google-wants-its-driverless-cars-to-be-wireless-too

One of this is the AmericanFederal Communications CommissionIt is clarified from the contents of documents submitted to FCC. In February 2015, the start-up based in New York "HEVO Power"Is permitted to set up an experimental charger on the road in Mountain View, California with Google headquarters. Also, in July of that year, Philadelphia company "Momentum Dynamics"Is also allowed to install a charger, but thatIn the petitionIt is also clear that the place name of Mountain View is included.


The power supply scheme adopted by the two companies is considered to be a magnetic resonance transmission system that uses two coils to transmit and receive power. Specifically, a mechanism is adopted to generate the electric power necessary for charging the battery by generating an induced current by receiving the electromagnetic force from the transmitter embedded in the road with the coil installed under the vehicle I will.

HEVO Power said that the experiment is proceeding by installing prototype of a transmitter called Alpha at Google headquarters "Googleplex" in Mountain View. This device has a manhole-like shape and has the ability to transmit 1.5 kilowatts of power to the car. In addition, although details are not yet clear, one Momentum Dynamics is developing a system capable of handling up to 200 kilowatts of electricity.

It is said that the length of time required for charging is one of operational problems for electric vehicles that use electricity as an energy source. Also, in order to secure a long cruising distance, it is necessary to mount a large capacity battery, but this is said to be one of the inevitable problems that the weight of the car becomes heavier and the energy efficiency drops I will.


It is likely that it will be a wireless power supply facility developed by both companies that brings this problem closer to solving. By setting up an environment where charging can be performed immediately even in a short standby time in the city without requiring a cable for charging, the charging time is shortened and the size of the battery is reduced, and the remaining cruising distance is maintained while being compact and lightweight It seems to be expected to lead to the realization of an electric car that does not need to care.

HEVO Power and Momentum Dynamics refused to comment on this matter. Google comments only that the company is constantly researching multiple technologies to realize automatic driving cars. In addition, at the time of writing the article, Google's automatic driving cars are all charged with the conventional charging cable.