A Highly Efficient and High Degree of Freedom of Position kW-class Wireless Power Transfer System in Seawater for Small AUVs

There are abundant energy and resource minerals in the sea. It is effective for an AUV to move freely in the sea in order to efficiently investigate and utilize these resources, an AUV that moves freely in the sea is effective. The AUV depends on the battery capacity and has a short activity time, so it needs to be pulled out of the sea every time it is charged. In this paper, we examine a magnetic field coupling type wireless power transfer system in the sea to operate AUV efficiently. Using a metal pressure-resistant container such as an AUV, a transfer coil, and a receiving coil, we conduct an experiment of wireless power transfer of high power in salt water. The proposed method is the wireless power transfer system with high degree of freedom in position and transfer efficiency in seawater.