More than a century ago, the famous scientist Nikola Tesla came up with an appropriate gadget that could transfer energy through electromagnetic waves without actually using any wires. No one ever thought about using the electromagnetic waves to recharge electric vehicles back then, especially since the automotive history was just gaining popularity and the fuel of choice, petroleum. Today a few groups of scientists aim to research electric vehicles in much the same way.
In simple words, they aim to eliminate the need for public recharging stations, which aren’t yet that common. Using the vehicle to recharge itself while running is the most amazing addition to the electric vehicle world. The plans to implement this technique were first adopted in Japan at the Toyohashi University of Technology led by Takashi Ohira, an electrical engineering professor.
The students set up a smart way to provide an unlimited range for such cars. No one can give any details about the range precisely, as the calculations are still in an early stage. The general idea is quite simply to understand – the system can produce and send electricity to the vehicle by using the car’s tyres only and a small part of the road. Basically, not more than four centimeters are enough to support the idea. The system was referred to as the EVER – Electric Vehicle on Electrified Roadway – and its name is suggestive enough.
Ever since the initial discovery, the Japanese students never quit their idea to complete, enhance and perfect the EVER system. They have released a new demo at wireless technology park 2012 held at Pacifico Yokohama on June 6th, only to convince the audience about the usefulness of this feature. They brought along a metallic plate. It was placed on a small piece of concrete, in an attempt to simulate the actual road. The tests went well and convinced the scientists about the beneficial effects of such techniques. The result was obvious – 50 to 60 watts of electricity were easily sent through the vehicle tires. The tests were performed with medium-sized tires.
Before that, the scientists at Toyota Central R&D Labs worked on a similar system. The results today are encouraging enough, although they are far from being implemented in the modern electric as the power delivery needs to be raised by 100 times and only then this would become a viable system and that’s exactly what the Japanese students are working on today. Only time can tell whether such systems will be adopted or not. So far, the technological world is slowly evolving, but amazing discoveries like this one can only make the environmental activists happy, not to mention about the engineers.
Written by John Wycliffe. John is a tree-hugger and likes to spread the word about renewable energy.Every since his childhood days he always found comfort lying around trees and plants.
Sources: Clean Technica, Inhabitat
Images: Clean Technica
Demo at wireless technology park 2012
