Maximizing Power Transfer for Dynamic Wireless Charging Electric Vehicles

Dynamic (on the go) wireless electrical charging is a new, challenging frontier for vehicular technologies, as it would allow a dramatic increase in the feasible distance range of electrical vehicles. This paper presents a system under development for optimizing the power transfer for dynamic charging vehicles. The system relies on a coil coupling sensor and a camera. The coupling sensor measures the coupling level between the road and vehicle coils, while the camera detects the distance of the vehicle from the two lines of the lane. A sensor fusion system is needed because, on one hand, the coil sensor is highly accurate but cannot distinguish the direction of the misalignment, while the camera is less precise but can provide information about the position of the lane center, where the centroid of the transmitting coil is expected to be and complete a series of other non-magnetic information needed like the obstacle presence.