FEATURE Wireless Technologies y
Untethered by wireless power I
n the 1890s, Nikola Tesla wanted to create a way of supplying power without stringing wires. He almost accomplished his goal when an experiment led him to the creation of the Tesla coil. It was the fi rst system that could wirelessly transmit electricity; sadly, it was short-lived.
Following the successful execution of
wireless data transfer, is wireless power the next step?
No wires
Since its invention, electricity has remained tethered to a cable and a power outlet. But now, the barriers to taking wireless power mainstream, like power level, effi ciency and performance, have been removed with the arrival of mass-market uses of gallium nitride (GaN) technology in product designs.
GaN is a chemical compound with semiconductor properties. Several electronic components are manufactured using GaN, including diodes, transistors and amplifi ers, putting the compound in the same family as silicon — the most widely-used semiconductor material on the market. However, GaN off ers a number of benefi ts over silicon, thanks to its wider bandgap, including higher temperature limits and handling of high power. With the average manufacturing facility using 95.1kWh of electricity per square foot annually, wireless power has the potential to transform the way they operate. But which specifi c applications could benefi t from wireless power?
Nokola Tesla’s coil was the first system that could transmit electricity wirelessly; this was in the 1890s
Autonomous mobile robots Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have become increasingly more productive with the ability to drive and park themselves adjacent to or over high-speed, high-power charging pads that don’t require human operators. AMRs are already capable of fi nding the charging pad themselves, but GaN helps eliminate the need for physical connectors.
GaN also has the potential to eliminate any compatibility issues. At the moment, robots from diff erent manufacturers often have diff erent physical connectors, but GaN could enable a standard for charging across the entire robotics industry.
Efficiency and high power Existing silicon power semiconductors are typically only able to deliver 20W at a distance of 5mm. While this is suitable for some applications, like charging a mobile phone wirelessly, it isn’t powerful enough to enable widespread adoption. With high-frequency systems using GaN power semiconductors, it’s possible to power devices up to 500W with a power transmitter and receiver separated by up to 500mm. This opens the wireless power market to a variety of new applications, such as delivery
26 September 2020 | Automation
drones, medical units, factory automation and contractor power tools.
Keeping sensors online 5G networks have ten times the data transmission of their 4G predecessors, making greater intelligence possible in industrial plants operating on this new network. However, the loss of power to a single sensor can shut down an entire factory assembly line. This problem is lessened when sensors that communicate wirelessly are also powered wirelessly. Additionally, if wireless power was made possible through walls and windows, 5G receivers could be placed outside a building, where they deliver up to three times the performance of a receiver situated inside. There’s already an increased global demand for wireless power, with 37% more wireless units shipped in 2019 compared with the previous year. The Tesla coil might not be fi t to fulfi l this demand anymore, but one of the many upcoming GaN technology providers could.
CONTACT:
EU Automation
www.euautomation.com/uk
Does wireless power have potential in industrial applications, asks Neil Ballinger, head of EMEA at industrial parts supplier EU Automation
Wireless power was first harnessed for consumer electronics, but is now making significant inroads in industrial applications, too
automationmagazine.co.uk
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