Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2023 - 23

FEATURE ARTICLE
years to find an affordable, rugged, and fit for purpose charging
solution for our platforms and in Wibotic we finally found what
we were looking for. The value of a mobile robot in commercial
services is proportionate to its uptime. Our customers are now
able to extend the useful runtime of their autonomous robots
over the course of a workday without intervention. "
Today, several forms of wireless power transfer exist. The most
common is inductive charging, as typically found in consumer
devices such as cell phones and electric toothbrushes. Inductive
systems are efficient, however, only when the antennas
are extremely close. Robots, drones and AUV's can't position
themselves accurately enough to ensure inductive systems will
provide a reliable charge.
Magnetic resonance is a newer technology that
offers much more flexibility in positioning but
typically relies upon a " sweet spot " where efficiency
is maximized. If the robot can navigate
to that exact spot, maximum efficiency can be
achieved but if it stops short or is off-center,
efficiency is reduced and charge times increase.
This may be acceptable for some applications
where very small amounts of power are used,
but not for larger devices such as robots, especially
entire fleets of robots. Based on years
of research at the University of Washington,
WiBotic's patented Adaptive Matching technology
builds on the strengths of both inductive and
resonant systems.
" Our patented Adaptive
Matching technology
is built into every
system, improving
upon established
methods for magnetic
resonance and inductive
power transfer,
to provide the power
levels and increased
antenna range
drones and robots
demand, " explains
Waters. " Wireless
" Other benefits of this include low emissions and low operating
temperature. A negative side effect of many inductive power
transfer systems is that when the antennas are misaligned, the
RF emissions of the system can be very high, and the antennas,
particularly the transmit antenna, can get very hot. By
maintaining the match, WiBotic has been able to receive US
and European approvals for our system and maintain much
lower operating temperatures. Autonomous charging needs to
be just as smart as the autonomous vehicle! "
For more info see www.wibotic.com and www.clearpathrobotics.com.
LET
THE " MAGNET EXPERTS " HELP
Got a Project Requiring a Custom Magnet
or Magnetic Assembly?
Experts in
* Compression Bonded
Neodymium Magnets
* Injection Molded Magnets
* Hybrid Magnets
* Magnetic Assemblies
Ben Waters, CEO of
WiBotic
power transfer systems abide by the physics of
a transformer, where maximum power transfer
occurs between a primary and secondary winding
when the source and load impedances are
matched.
" The tricky part, " he notes, " is that the source
and load impedances in a wireless power
system are always changing as a function of
distance between the antennas, power delivered
to the load and temperature. WiBotic has implemented
a technique to dynamically control these
impedances in real time to achieve a maximum
power point tracking, which enables the efficiency
and impedance match to be optimized
regardless of antenna position and operating
power level. "
3D printed assemblies are now
available enabling our engineers
to efficiently create product
prototypes, ultimately saving
time and money.
800.437.8890 or 814.375.9145
DuBois@BUNTINGMAGNETICS.COM
www.BUNTING-DuBois.COM
ITAR-Registered
9001:2015
REGISTERED
www.MagneticsMag.com
May/June 2023 * Magnetics Business & Technology 23
http://www.wibotic.com http://www.clearpathrobotics.com http://www.clearpathrobotics.com http://www.BUNTING-DuBois.COM http://www.MagneticsMag.com
Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2023
