I-Corps: COMMERCIALIZATION OF WIRELESS CHARGER

Suny College At Oswego, Oswego NY

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project, based on wireless charging technology, is wide ranging. The expansion of drone applications, use of industrial and multifunctional robots, mobile electronics and sensors and gadgets associated with the internet of things, call for new charging mechanisms for these battery operated devices. The initial market entry point for this project, drone service providers, will not only progress the drone industry but also the industries that drone applications serve. For agriculture, more effective drone monitoring will increase percent yield of crops as farmers are able to monitor crop growth more effectively. For search and rescue, remote drone charging stations could help save lives as drones are able to travel further distances. For oil and gas, drones are already seen as a safer and more cost effective way to monitor fields. As drone autonomy applications expand, wireless charging technology enabled by this I-Corps project will become essential in package delivery and disaster relief operations as well as a broad range of other industries. Wireless charging technology will also lower production costs for automated manufacturing and factories adopting industrial internet-of-things sensors and devices. This I-Corps project leverages wireless charger technology which is capable of powering devices at distances of a few centimeters to one meter, with an option for charging capability from a few Watts up to a few Kilowatts. Commercially available Qi chargers and near-field non-radiative magnetic induction based wireless chargers result in a rapid degradation of the power transfer efficiency (PTE) with as distance increases. Compared to other magnetic resonance based chargers, the patented technology of this I-Corps project offers less degradation in power efficiency with distance, the ability to charge multiple devices on both sides of the transmitter, and allows for developing thin flexible receivers that can be mounted on planar, singly and doubly curved surfaces. Further, the charger can be tuned in real time for optimum efficiency when the distance between the transmitter and receiver changes. In addition, the possibility of integrating the charger with the drone fuselage eliminates the problems associated with aerodynamic drag which results if a stand-alone charger is mounted on the drone, saves drone "real estate", and reduces the weight of the overall system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.