Wirelessly charging electric cars from underneath the road

[Karpi]

South Korea tests world's first 'electric road' | Al Jazeera America

I found this really interesting, and I've been trying to bring it up to as many people as possible. Basically, in the city of Sumi in Korea, a new road was constructed that has electric cables buried beneath it, and these (for some reason involving magnetic fields that I don't understand completely) can wirelessly charge electric cars that drive on the road. This is currently being used for public transportation.

Is this the future? It certainly solves a lot of problems regarding electric vehicles. It also helps give the hyper-polluted country a way to burn less petroleum while not having to give up luxuries like cars.

 

[97SaturnSL1]

its neat but i still prefer a gas or diesel engine so if the power goes out i still can travel. plus cars such as jeeps and pickups are also for OFF ROAD useage too so i doubt people will dig up every square inch of dirt so they can go off roading. its a neat idea but i like the tradtional powered cars or EVs such as the Tesla roadster or the Chevy volt

 

[H-con]

...(for some reason involving magnetic fields that I don't understand completely) can wirelessly charge electric cars that drive on the road. This is currently being used for public transportation.

...

Is this the future?

Electromagnetic induction. A change in magnetic fields induces a current in the wires, thus powering the vehicle.

This can work for (some) public transport, having a set route to begin with anyways.

I wouldn't say this is the future, seeing how it would be a technical nightmare to implement on a big scale, especially for private transport. In addition to that, it merely moves the need for fuel to somewhere else, namely the plants generating power. Granted, you would get rid of the local pollution created by the cars, making it generally more healthy, so it would be a plus in the environmental department in that regard.

I'd rather spend more resources on developing cars that can drive longer on a battery. Gives more flexibility without the need of immense infrastructure investment.

 

[Dorothy LaRouge]

I'd rather spend more resources on developing cars that can drive longer on a battery. Gives more flexibility without the need of immense infrastructure investment.

Yeah. While this is pretty cool refining electric automobile technology is what we should be focusing on.

 

[DerMißingno]

I think it's a good idea for metropolitan areas. You could have cabs, rental cars and public transportation that doesn't plan on leaving the city use it. Regular battery operated electric cars would still be much better for driving cross country and in the suburbs.

 

[97SaturnSL1]

Regular battery operated electric cars would still be much better for driving cross country and in the suburbs.

personally i would want a car that would have an alternate fuel source in case the battery was fully depleted that i wouldnt have to plug the car into and i could use the engine to power the batteries to power the car. Something like the Ford Fusion Energi or Chevy Volt (Opel Ampera) i would love to have * in addition to a regular powered car* i think that technology would be good for the plug in hybrids would be nice and having that extra range would really make driving more bearable financialy and convienent.