World's first wireless electric vehicle under testing in S Korea

The world's first wireless electric vehicle is currently undergoing road tests in Korea, according to Arirang News, the daily newscast on Korean International English channel Arirang.

Though the vehicle rolls down the road like any conventional bus, while approaching the bus stop, it automatically begins to charge itself, according to the report.

The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) receives power through 'shaped magnetic field in resonance technology' that allows transfer of electricity to the bus from the road while in motion.

The OLEV system, developed by the Korea Advanced institute of Science and Technology, involves the battery getting recharged while operating through electric wires embedded in roads, reducing the size of required batteries for a vehicle.

The bus charges itself as it passes over parts of the road where charging facilities have been installed, travelling thereafter on its route with a charged battery.

Electric cables buried underground create magnetic fields which the bus converts into electricity.

The battery on the bus is only one-fifth of the size of the battery on regular electric buses, and is capable of receiving 100 kilowatts electricity at a maximum power transmission efficiency of 75 per cent.

Installation of charging facilities is not an expensive proposition and charging can be done with the vehicles at rest or in motion, which makes the operation both quick and economical.

The wireless Online Electric Vehicle ranks among the 10 most promising technological developments listed by the World Economic Forum.

For the purpose of testing two buses would ply the 24-kilometre bus route in the city of Gumi in North Gyeonsgang Province.

The pilot programme would run until the end of the year, and next year researchers hope to get government support and expand operations. According to the researchers the new technological development could potentially transform transportation worldwide.