Fulton Innovation says its eCoupled wireless charging tech can now handle high-powered devices like cars, not just handhelds and other small electronic bric-a-brac. It’s just a proof-of-concept device right now, but Fulton is looking to make its system the go-to wireless kit.
The company rolled out its eCoupled PowerSpot today, showing off how it could power up a Tesla Roadster. Once the spot is installed, you park your EV about four inches (in the case of the Tesla) over an induction pad. An adaptor is fitted to the underbody of the Tesla.
Naturally, an iPhone app would monitor the charging.
The company says it’s the first time its been able to wirelessly charge a “high-powered device”. Nissan announced last year that it had developed its own induction charger, though has yet to offer it for sale.
[via The Next Web]
Republished from Jalopnik
matt
Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 3:02 PMyeah, but whats the efficiency of the transfer… I heard it was as low as 50% at one stage… thats a LOT of wasted energy all for the sake of not having to plug a little cord in…
Andrew Munford
Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 1:52 AMQuestion… Why not place inductive charging systems under all new roads, so cars can pick up charge as they move. You could use RFID style tech to track how much a person uses, and charge accordingly. There may be a reason this wouldn’t work, but i can’t see it after a few seconds thinking :P
Steeeve
Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 3:30 PMYou need to align the coils to get any amount of efficiency out of the system. You can’t do that easily while in motion.
j03w
Monday, January 10, 2011 at 12:47 PMalso, that would be bad for the batteries…
Daniel
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 12:36 AMAnd could potentially create problems for non-wireless enabled cars.
I have no idea why they’ve chosen the underside of the car, but from a logical point of view, it seems it has been done to easily seperate the electromagnetic force from the rest of the car.
I would say they have placed a sheet of material under the car that acts as a “shield” against the Electromagnetic force being emitted from this charging station to prevent it from damaging the car’s engine control unit and other electronics.
Now imagine forcing this EMF through non-shielded cars. That’s not to exclude all other electronic devices that pass the road, such as pedestrians with pacemakers. Every little detail counts i guess.