Over the last couple of years there have been a number of wireless chargers hitting the market, such as the Powermat and the WildCharge.
These are designed to keep mobile devices charged and ready without dealing with the hassle of cords and connections. The technology has also been proposed as a way to recharge vehicleswhile they are parked without having to plug them in, while some companies are looking at charging cars while they are moving from electrical conductors embedded in the road. Now, a group of students in Germany has taken that idea and run with it by building an electric vehicle called the E-Quickie that runs on wireless power transmission.
Looking a bit like a recumbent bike with a driver’s cabin, the E-Quickie was built by students at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA) to investigate the practicality of a wirelessly powered electric vehicle. It gets its energy from electric conducting paths on the ground with receivers underneath the car taking energy from the tracks through electric induction and directing it to the car’s electrical hub drive.
One student working group took care of setting up the racing track, which was provided by the firm SEW, in Bruchsal. Two other teams were dedicated to the vehicle’s energy absorption and the safety of the entire system.