Dynamic V2V power-sharing for collaborative fleets of autonomous vehicles

The current trends towards electrification, autonomy, and vehicle-sharing are predicted to transform mobility. However, the charging process is one of the main issues preventing electric vehicles from populating our roads. We envision a future in which fleets of autonomous vehicles will work as a bio-inspired collaborative system. In this future, vehicles will share battery with other vehicles while moving, doing what is more efficient for the system as a whole instead of following their own independent rulesets. As a result, vehicles will access energy anywhere and anytime. This lightweight infrastructure solution will minimize costs and infrastructure availability problems. Vehicle downtime and the miles traveled related to charging will also be reduced, making the use of vehicles more efficient. This paper proposes a connection that allows sharing battery while moving by combining wireless power transfer and an electromagnet. A proof of concept prototype has been built to validate the proposed connection.