Drive a lighter car and save on fuel, or recharge the batteries of your electric vehicle using wireless technology when you park it.
To make these and other ideas a reality, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is pumping $17.5 million into 10 research projects tackling challenges in the automotive industry.
With electric vehicles to hit Singapore’s roads as early as next year, the project to charge such vehicles wirelessly will cut hassle for drivers by eliminating the need to drive to charging stations.
Using near-field radio frequency communications, cars would be fitted with a receiving coil and parking lots would feature a transmitting coil. The signals transmitted and received generate an electromagnetic field, enabling the cars to be charged.
Another project aims to make future cars lighter and stronger, using a higher strength plastic material made of nanofiller to replace glass fibres used widely in cars today. Plans are also afoot to develop an all-round sensor system for cars, which would help drivers avoid collisions as well as park their vehicles.
The projects are part of A*STAR’s Capabilities for Automotive Research consortium, which saw eight new members including ST Kinetics and GP Batteries joining its three founding members, Bosch, Infineon Technologies and Dou Yee.
