KAIST Wirelessly-charged OLEVs now in full swing

The folks over at Korea Advance Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have been busy with a lot of things, but one of their projects in particular, the Wireless Online Electric Vehicle, may just be the most revolutionary invention to date and may very well be the future of public transportation.

In essence, KAIST’s OLEV bus is just like your typical electric-powered buses that we’ve seen in the past. However, what makes it different from the rest is its ability to be wirelessly charged whether it’s stationary or on the move, eliminating the need to stop at station to recharge it.

How’s this possible? Well the OLEV bus runs on a specialized road imbued with the KAIST’s home-brew technology called Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance. SMFIR cables are embedded just underneath the asphalt road of Gumi City in South Korea where the two OLEV buses treads.

Mind you though that these cables are strategically placed throughout the 15-mile road and only five (5) to fifteen (15) percent of it is loaded with these cables. Therefore, it eliminates the need to transform the entire buses’ route into a wireless charging pad. Furthermore, what’s cool about this road is that it’s free for all, meaning cars of the future that are equipped with wireless charging feature can also use the road’s electricity.

There are currently two OLEV buses in the city, but KAIST is planning to add 10 more buses by 2015.

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