TMC in March committed to leading the future of mobility by integrating automobiles, homes and information technology.
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) said today in Japan that it has entered into a technology sharing agreement with U.S. based WiTricity Corporation. The world’s largest automaker will explore the practical application of automotive wireless charging systems and the promotion of their use, TMC said in a statement. TMC plans to help WiTricity increase its capital, but financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
WiTricity’s charging technology uses “resonance,” which in theory allows charging without direct contact between devices. Company promotional materials claim that this is more efficient than electromagnetic-induction, another wireless technology, albeit one that requires contact as used on General Motors’ EV1 recharging system.
Resonance comes about when the magnetic fields of two devices have closely matched “resonant frequencies” that can couple into a single continuous magnetic field. This allows the transfer of power from one device to the other at high efficiency and over distances that are useful for real-world applications. This “strong coupling” enables the devices to exchange energy via magnetism, and avoids the potential safety hazards and inefficiency often associated with radiated electro-magnetic energy, according to WiTricity.
TMC said the collaboration is aimed to accelerate development and eventual implementation of wireless charging for automobiles so that the charging of a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle could be as simple and convenient as parking near an embedded charger at a home or in a parking facility.
WiTricity Corporation was founded in 2007 to commercialize a new technology for wireless electricity invented two years earlier at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
