Autonomous System for Maintaining Charged Batteries on Electric Vehicles in Motion

Cloud-Based Network Monitors Battery Levels and Routes Efficient in Transit Charging via Vehicle-to-Vehicle Exchanges

This autonomous system charges networked, battery-operated electric vehicles while they are in motion and reduces the need for central charging stations. Transportation solutions that rely on mobile battery power are on the rise; increasing demand for fuel-efficient, high-performance, and low-emission transportation will lead to electric vehicles accounting for 18 percent of new automotive sales in the U.S. by 2028 . Despite this demand, the charging infrastructure for battery-powered vehicles remains inefficient, relying on a limited number of stations that operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Additionally, the vehicles must remain at these fixed stations for an extended time during the charging process, hindering electric vehicle adoption due to user inconvenience.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a system for efficiently charging cloud-linked electric vehicles without requiring them to stop. The system creates a network of electric cars, drones, robots, etc., each able to exchange charge with all other vehicles registered to the network. This facilitates efficient charge distribution and convenient, on-the-go charging.

Application

Power management system that charges the batteries of electric vehicles while moving and increases efficiency of large-scale electric vehicle networks

Advantages

• Charges battery-operated devices without a fixed charging station, extending the operating range of various electric vehicles such as drones and cars
• Enables vehicle-to-vehicle power exchange, maintaining adequate charge in vehicles in transit
• Centrally monitors electric devices registered to a charging network in real-time, scheduling charges and facilitating inter-vehicle communication
• Autonomously delivers battery power without user input, efficiently allocating charge to all devices registered on the network

Technology

An autonomous system generates a charge distribution map from real-time information transmitted by vehicles registered to the cloud-based charging network. These vehicles may be at various charge stations and may join charging networks as requested. The system runs a scheduling algorithm in the cloud using the charge distribution map data and other network information to coordinate charge transfers from one vehicle to another. These exchanges can redistribute network charges based on the demand of individual electric vehicles, allowing each vehicle to function at optimum working level according to the total amount of available charge stored in the network.