At the pace technology is progressing and at the rate comfort has become the central need for car owners, we are sure headed for some wonderful new things. Toyota has taken up a new task in this respect. Its aim is to replace the use of a plug-in charging system with a new wireless battery charging.
The Japanese car maker has announced, this month, verification testing will be done on a new wireless battery charging system that it is developing for vehicles using an electric powertrain. This new technology will allow the vehicle to be charged by simply parking it in alignment with a coil set into the ground, thus reducing or rather doing away with the need for cables and other electric paraphernalia.
All the fundamentals have also been though of by the company. It is developing this technology with a future market launch in mind. The company is going to see that this process becomes as easy as possible and so, is also working on an intelligent parking assist system, which will help in aligning the car correctly to the transmitting coil in a parking space.
The Toyota charging system transmits electricity using magnetic resonance created by changes in magnetic field intensity between a transmitting coil in the ground and a receiving coil in the car. It is designed so that it can reduce any loss in power transmission efficiency caused by misalignment or height differences between the coils.
The system is being developed with a future market launch in mind. Measures have been taken to minimise any electromagnetic interference with nearby equipment, and the transmitting coil in the ground has been made robust enough to withstand vehicles driving over it.
Toyota will use the test results to develop the technology further, with the ultimate aim of bringing the system to market. Toyota believes its commercialisation will help promote the use of electrified vehicles and mobility options that are smarter, easier to use and kinder to the environment.
Well, this kind of technology could be a boon for countries like ours where electric vehicles or hybrid, for that matter, have not caught on. Our major problems are the availability of charging stations, paucity of space etc.. So if Toyota succeeds, then, this might make Electric Vehicles a viable option for most.
