Resonant-Inductive Wireless Power Transfer for Autonomous Mobile Robots

Due to the increasing commercial interest in autonomy and sustainability,this paper reviews and presents a comprehensive summary of the resonant-inductive power transmission(RPT)technology for autonomous mobile robots.It outlines historic and recent research activities in wireless power transmission,covering the fundamental operation of microwave,capacitive and inductive power transfer technologies,state-of-the-art developments in RPT for high-power applications,current design and health standards,technological drawbacks,and possible future trends.In this paper,coupling-enhanced pad designs,adaptive tuning techniques,compensation network designs,and control techniques are explored.Major design issues such as coupling variation,frequency splitting,and bifurcation are reviewed.The difference between maximum power transfer and maximum energy efficiency is highlighted.Human exposure guidelines are summarized from documentations provided by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE)and the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection(ICNIRP).Other standards like WPC’s Qi and Airfuel design standards are also summarized.Finally,the possible trends of the relevant research and development,particularly dynamic charging,are discussed.The intention of this review is to encourage designs that will relieve robot operators of the burden of frequent manual recharging,and to reduce downtime and increase the productivity of autonomous mobile robots in industrial environments.