I-Corps: Dynamic Wireless Charging

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project includes increased productivity and cost reductions in warehouses and factories through wireless charging of autonomous material handling vehicles (AMHVs). The commercialization of the proposed technologies could reduce the need for expensive and bulky on-board batteries, extend range, and accelerate electric vehicle penetration with the potential for substantial reductions in U.S. energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The wireless charging technology could also enable new life-saving and quality-of-life enhancing energy-hungry biomedical implants, such as artificial hearts, for millions of people. This new wireless charging technology, if properly engineered and marketed, may meet unaddressed needs by providing a way for in-motion charging while eliminating downtime. The project will also meet broader educational goals, including the training of a graduate student through the I-Corps innovation and entrepreneurship course and Cornell's Commercialization Fellows Program. This I-Corps project is a dynamic capacitive wireless charging system suitable for in-motion charging of autonomous material handing vehicles (AMHVs), other mobile robots, and electric vehicles (EVs). Power is transferred safely and without contact through the air via high-frequency electric fields from the charging pad on the floor to the charging pad on the vehicle when the vehicle is in proximity. Research in this area has led to the development of new approaches to the design of multi-stage matching networks, active variable reactance rectifiers, and variable compensation inverters suitable for dynamic capacitive wireless charging systems, as well as other radio frequency applications. Compared to inductive wireless charging (which transfers energy through magnetic fields), capacitive wireless charging is smaller, lighter, less expensive, and easier to embed in the floor. Preliminary analysis suggests the possibility of substantial cost reductions through reduced downtime with the use of dynamic capacitive wireless charging instead of wired charging in warehouses. This system will also enable research in large-scale deployment of wireless charging infrastructure for AMHVs, other mobile robots, and EVs. 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.