Toyota begins testing wireless recharging for electric cars

Toyota has announced that it will begin actual verification testing of its new wireless battery charging system for electric vehicles, one which charges the battery of a plug-in hybrid or a pure-electric car by having the car park over it. Toyota's charging system uses magnetic-resonance technology, which operates by transmitting electricity by using the magnetic resonance resulting from changes in magnentic field intensity between a coil positioned under the car, and a receiving coil built into the underside of the vehicle. This system eliminates the need for physically plugging in an electric car or a hybrid to an actual plug, and also has the potential to solve the problem of multiple types of actual plugs.

Toyota is also testing a new parking assist system which would enable the driver to park in an optimum position for the wireless charging system to charge the car's battery. In prototype form, this technology has been coupled with Toyota's Intelligent Parking Assist system.

This isn't a typical automaker test in controlled research facility conditions, but rather one in which three modified Priuses have been given to customers in Aichi Prefecture for one year to test ease of use, user satisfaction, misalignment rates, and charging behavior. Following the successful completion of this test, Toyota hopes to introduce wireless charging in existing plug-in hybrid vehicles. That means wireless charging is just a couple years away, though it'll be infrastructure that will need more time to catch up. Installing such a system in one's home is one thing, but it'll be quite another for commercial property owners, such as convenience stores or office buildings to offer these in their parking garages. The underlying technology is not that far fetched, and has already been marketed with cell phones that use a miniature version of this very system.

Toyota
A new parking assist system has been developed, which will help drivers position their cars over the touch-free charger.

Volvo has been working on an identical system as well, one which works along the same principle. It's not clear at this point which automaker is further along in terms of being able to introduce wireless charging in production vehicles, but the tremendous disparity in size between the two automakers, as well as the wealth of experience in developing and marketing plug-in hybrids and pure-electric vehicles overwhelmingly favors Toyota.

Now, all that remains is for other automakers to create car-mounted wireless charging coils which will actually be compatible with the ground-mounted wireless chargers which will appear on the market. That'll be the tough part.

By Jay Ramey