Wireless Charging: How One Startup is Helping Electric Cars Cut the Cord

The future of mobility is electric. We have the technology and given the ever-rising concerns surrounding global warming and fossil fuels, we certainly have the motivation. But with only about 20,000 charging stations across the US—about ⅙ the number of gas stations—electric vehicles aren’t yet practical for widespread use. While more designated charging stations are needed, one startup believes they have the technology to bring simplified car charging to homes, parking lots, and eventually the roads themselves .

WiTricity is working on a form of wireless charging called magnetic resonance. This technology draws energy from the electric grid through a wire which leads into a copper coil on the ground, creating a magnetic field. As a second copper wire attached to the bottom of a vehicle enters this magnetic field, an electric current is generated and used to charge the car’s battery pack. So to charge your vehicle, you simply need to pull into the spot and wait a few hours. WiTricity claims that this method is just as efficient as current cable charging systems. But unlike cables, coils can transfer energy straight through asphalt and pavement, allowing this tech to be used in parking lots and driveways. This capability is at the core of WiTricity’s loftiest goal—turning cars into mobile power banks.

WiTricity wants to install their technology underneath roadways so cars can refuel while driving. But they’re being realistic about the complexity of making this happen in the coming years. CEO, Alex Gruzen, says cities and states won’t want to tear up hundreds of miles of roadway to install electric charging. For now, Gruzen has sights on airports and train stations with large stretches of taxi lanes. Cars could charge while they’re in line.  Eventually, WiTricity wants to see electric cars rolling around as giant batteries. They could store up electricity until needed and then divert back any excess directly into the grid either for payment or credits for free for their next refuel. While this practice of redistributing energy to the grid could exist with cable charging, it is likely much simpler and faster via the coil method.   

Check out this video demo of WiWtricity’s wireless charging:

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Virtual Reality and Road Safety Education

Virtual Reality (VR)—it’s all fun and games until someone figures out how to use it for the benefit of safety education. And it appears that time is upon us. While still in its infancy, the mainstay of VR has been entertainment, giving users next-level experiences of visual media like video games and films. But since it’s conception (and likely well before it), developers and members of various disciplines have recognized VR for it’s potential educational applications. Since transportation is an industry impacting nearly all members of our society on a daily-basis, it’s the perfect candidate for improvement by way of VR. Recently, two new safety programs have been created to educate pedestrians and drivers alike.

With the school year underway crosswalks are once again flooded with young children. In Canada, child pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of injury-related death. To combat these unfortunate statistics, researchers at the University of Guelph are implementing a VR program that teaches students when and how to cross streets safely in real-life scenarios. By wearing the VR goggles, children are fully immersed in pedestrian environments and given the chance to test their reaction time and general attention. A digital character acts as the child’s coach, offering positive reinforcements and directions for improvements. This immersive, tailored approach appears to be working. In a study of 130 children aged 7-10, those trained with the VR program made 75 to 98 percent few road safety errors than their counterparts.

Truckers in England have also received their own VR training program. Highway England has created a VR smartphone app that gives users a simulated view from a truck cab traveling down a highway. This application was initially designed for the use of commercial truckers, but Highway England states that it’s equally beneficial to private drivers who will no doubt encounter heavy goods vehicles (HGV) on the road. A few of the scenarios included in the application are: overtaking, tailgating, joining from a ramp lane, and more. The main goal of the application is to develop awareness for blind spots on trucks, which are naturally much larger than those of an average four-wheel vehicle.

We’re still in the early phases of VR technology, but if these programs are any indication, the future of virtual education tools is looking bright. One could imagine VR technology finding its way into mainstream driver’s education at some point in the near future. If it means safer roads, let the games begin.

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