I-Corps: Dynamic Wireless Charging

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括通过自动物料搬运车(AMHV)的无线充电提高仓库和工厂的生产率和降低成本。拟议技术的商业化可以减少对昂贵而笨重的车载电池的需求，扩大续航里程，并加快电动汽车的普及，从而有可能大幅减少美国的能源消耗和温室气体排放。无线充电技术还可以为数百万人提供新的挽救生命和提高生活质量的耗能生物医学植入物，如人工心脏。如果设计和营销得当，这种新的无线充电技术可能会满足未解决的需求，因为它提供了一种在消除停机时间的同时进行动态充电的方法。该项目还将满足更广泛的教育目标，包括通过i-Corps创新创业课程和康奈尔大学的商业化研究员计划培养研究生。i-Corps项目是一种动态电容式无线充电系统，适用于自动物料搬运车(AMHV)、其他移动机器人和电动汽车(EVS)的动态充电。当车辆在附近时，电力通过高频电场通过空气安全地从地板上的充电板传输到车辆上的充电板。这一领域的研究导致了设计多级匹配网络、有源可变电抗整流器和可变补偿逆变器的新方法的发展，这些逆变器适用于动态电容式无线充电系统以及其他射频应用。与感应无线充电(通过磁场传输能量)相比，电容式无线充电更小、更轻、更便宜，而且更容易嵌入地板。初步分析表明，通过在仓库中使用动态电容式无线充电而不是有线充电，通过减少停机时间，可以大幅降低成本。该系统还将为AMHV、其他移动机器人和电动汽车大规模部署无线充电基础设施进行研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.