Adaptive Wireless Power for Subsea Vehicles

Wireless power transfer in seawater removes the inherent risks and complexities of mating conductive surfaces in seawater. An effective underwater wireless power transfer system for subsea vehicles must maintain power transfer despite dynamic misalignment between the power transmission and receive elements, and therefore requires an adaptive system. We describe development and characterization of a transmit-receive coil pair optimized for seawater performance within the framework of the WiBotic adaptive resonant wireless power transfer technology, which automatically adjusts for misalignment and separation between the transmit and receive coils. Further, we demonstrate that transmit-receive coil pairs can be effectively tuned to provide adaptive wireless power transfer in saltwater, with no significant effects of increased pressure at depth.