Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Wireless Power (WiPOWER) for a Cordless World

工程研究中心规划拨款竞赛是ERC项目的试点征集。规划补助金不需要作为ERC竞赛的一部分，但它旨在在团队之间建立能力，以规划聚合的、中心规模的工程研究。WiPOWER ERC的总体愿景是通过为交通工具、家庭和医院设备以及人体设备提供静态和动态充电技术，创造一个“无绳世界”。该中心的研究重点将是研究日常使用的无线、无绳电源所需的基础技术。最近在可调谐电子设计方面取得的进展为开发无线电力传输（WPT）拓扑提供了机会，这些拓扑有可能满足广泛实施所需的效率、功率、功能和距离要求。这些进步包括可调谐无源元件（如电容器、变压器和电感器）、基于超材料的增强耦合和无线电源路由、宽带电流传感器和利用可调性的电路架构，以及高效有源元件（开关、滤波器）。利用这些可调谐的电子拓扑，当穿戴者在房屋/医院或其附近时，可穿戴设备和传感器（如血糖监测仪和胰岛素泵）可以通过射频无线传输供电。该团队将研究相控阵等方法，将携带功率的射频波束导向一个或多个可穿戴设备/传感器。家庭和办公室里的普通电子设备将能够不需要电线和插头就能工作。无线电力基础设施还将通过提供满足高效率、安全性和可靠性要求的停车充电和动态移动充电技术，推动即将到来的电动汽车和自动驾驶汽车革命。在规划阶段组织的讲习班将审议如何最好地与工业、教育和企业界协调，将WPT技术结合起来，为整个社会服务。WiPOWER ERC规划团队将在研讨会期间与更广泛的利益相关者接触，为该中心制定多样性和包容性计划、技术路线图和劳动力发展。规划阶段将利用这一经验，包括来自参与机构的代表，对社区和其他地方产生更广泛的影响。在规划阶段组织的讲习班将审议如何最好地与工业、教育和企业界协调，将WPT技术结合起来，为整个社会服务。WiPOWER ERC规划团队将在研讨会期间与更广泛的利益相关者接触，以制定中心的战略目标和里程碑。为了实现WPT系统，需要在不同功率水平下工作的有源和无源组件的组合。每个组件都有自己的一套性能指标、操作指南、测试标准和定价策略。全面了解WPT系统所需的所有组件的这些变量是计划阶段进行调查的重要组成部分。将建立可靠性和加速寿命测试协议，以确保在动态充电条件下的稳健部署。在规划阶段，目标将是利用研讨会、工业参观、电话会议和交流项目，对当前的技术状况、技术壁垒、知识产权、工业路线图、法规和标准以及商业化合作伙伴进行一致的总结。本研究的重点领域之一将是具有附加可调性的无源元件，这些无源元件具有对不同电路工作条件的适应性。可调谐电容器和电感将有助于解决WPT中的一个关键挑战-由于发射和接收线圈/板之间的间隙增加或线圈/板错位而导致的接收功率损失。除了低损耗可调谐无源元件外，还将研究高效功率发射机和接收机有源元件领域的最新技术，以实现经济高效的WPT。采用宽禁带半导体（如GaN和SiC）的先进电路设计将通过与行业合作伙伴的广泛互动来确定。在SOI和CMOS中需要专门的低功耗IC设计的超低功耗应用的商业化途径将被确定并纳入目标测试平台。与WPT集成的高功率、高效、长寿命电池系统将为弥合充电事件之间的差距提供机会。这些调查将共同推进ERC，旨在支持围绕研究、工程劳动力发展、多样性和包容性文化以及创新生态系统的基本要求。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Planning Grants for Engineering Research Centers competition was run as a pilot solicitation within the ERC program. Planning grants are not required as part of the full ERC competition, but intended to build capacity among teams to plan for convergent, center-scale engineering research.The overarching vision of the WiPOWER ERC is to create a "Cordless World" by providing static and dynamic power charging technologies for transportation vehicles, devices in homes and hospitals, and devices on/in the human body. Research thrusts within the center will investigate foundational technologies required for wireless, tether-free power for daily use devices. Recent advances accomplished in tunable electronic design offer the opportunity to develop wireless power transfer (WPT) topologies with the potential to meet the necessary efficiency, power, function and distance requirements for widespread implementation. These advances include tunable passive elements (e.g., capacitors, transformers, and inductors), metamaterial based enhanced coupling and routing of wireless power, broad bandwidth current sensors and circuit architectures that exploit tunability, as well as high-efficiency active components (switches, filters). Utilizing these tunable electronics based topologies, wearable devices and sensors (such as a blood glucose monitor and an insulin pump) can be powered through RF wireless power transmission when the wearer is inside a house/hospital or in its vicinity. The team will investigate approaches such as a phase array to direct the power-carrying RF beam toward one or multiple wearable devices/sensors. Common electronic devices in the home and offices will be able to operate without cords and plugs. The proposed wireless power infrastructure will also enable the coming electric and autonomous vehicle revolution by providing parked charging and dynamic moving charging technology that meet the high efficiency, safety and reliability requirements. The workshops organized during the planning phase will consider how to best coordinate with the industrial, educational and entrepreneurial community on integrating WPT technology to serve the community at large. The WiPOWER ERC planning team will engage with broader impacts stakeholders during the workshops to develop diversity and inclusion plan, technology roadmaps and workforce development for the center. Planning phase will leverage that experience by including representatives from the participating institutions broader impacts community and beyond. The workshops organized during the planning phase will consider how to best coordinate with the industrial, educational and entrepreneurial community on integrating WPT technology to serve the community at large. The WiPOWER ERC planning team will engage with broader impacts stakeholders during the workshops to develop strategic objectives and milestones for the center.Combination of active and passive components operating at different power levels are required in order to implement WPT systems. Each component has its own set of performance metrics, operational guidelines, testing standard and pricing strategy. Complete understanding of these variables for all the components needed for WPT systems is an essential part of the investigations to be conducted during the planning phase. Reliability and accelerated lifetime testing protocols will be established to ensure robust deployment in dynamic charging conditions. During the planning phase, the goal will be to utilize workshops, industrial visits, conference calls, and exchange programs to develop a consistent summary of the current technology status, technology barriers, intellectual property, industrial roadmaps, regulations and standards, and commercialization partners. One of the emphasis areas in this investigation will be passive components with added-tunability that have adaptability to different circuit operating conditions. Tunable capacitors and inductors will help a critical challenge in WPT - the loss of received power as the gap between transmitting and receiving coils/plates increases or the coils/plates are misaligned. In addition to low-loss tunable passive components, state-of-the-art in the area of high-efficiency power transmitter and receiver active components will be investigated to achieve cost-effective high-efficiency WPT. Advanced circuit designs using wide bandgap semiconductors, such as GaN and SiC, will be identified through extensive interactions with industry partners. Commercialization pathways for ultra-low power applications requiring specialized low-power IC designs in SOI and in CMOS will be identified and incorporated in the targeted testbeds. High power, efficient, and long-life battery systems integrated with WPT will be identified to provide opportunities to bridge the gaps between charging events. Together these investigations will advance an ERC designed to support the foundational requirements around research, engineering workforce development, diversity and a culture of inclusion, and an innovation ecosystem.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.