The mobile chipset maker is now carrying out a field test, or pilot program of its Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging System, or WEVC, setting the target date for the commercial release sometime between 2014 and 2015.
What Qualcomm is the most concerned about is the safe operation of the WEVC system. The wireless charging system is so convenient that you don’t need to plug in any cable or cord to charge an EV. You just park your EV car over the charging station on the ground, turn off the engine, and walk away, letting the system to recharge the built-in car battery system.
Yet, there is a trade-off. As the Qualcomm WEVC works on an electromagnetic induction technology, any metallic object on the charging pad will risk heating or firing up the system –one of the biggest impediments against the rapid commercial rollout.
To meet a stringent safety regulation, Qualcomm is test-running a metallic object detection technology that can identify even a slightest ingredient of metals on system.
The WEVC system consists of two charging pad; one buried on the ground and the other built into the bottom of the EV car.
“You create a magnetic field by using a magnetic induction. That changes energy from this pad to the pad on the vehicle. That charges a battery on the car, “ Joe Barrett, senior director with Qualcomm Europe Ltd.
“If any metallic object is on the pad, however, it will heat up the system. So, we have to turn off the system. For example, a coin goes on the pad, we detect the metallic object. And, we can turn off a system instantly,” added he.
The detection system is so sensitive that it can even detect metallic foils on a cigarette pack, or even a paper clip.
Qualcomm plans to license this technology to car manufacturers and expect mass-production of EV car with this WEVC system to start sometime between 2014 and 2015.
Photos & Videos by JH Bae
