Google Cars have recently been doing rounds outside Mountain View, California. The latest reports are that the company will be sending its self-driving cars to Kirkland, Washington before the end of this month.
These are just areas where Alphabet has been testing its fully automated cars. While the list is expected to grow even further as more and more people continue accepting that it is safer to have a robot as a co-driver than a human, there is still the question of how these cars will be powered for greater distances, for example.
Battery capacity issues
If you didn’t know, electric cars rely on battery power to move around. This is the same technology that Alphabet is using in its Google Cars. However, the main problem here is, just like with the case of smartphones, battery life.
Of course, there are a few stations scattered here and there where owners of these self-driving cars can charge their car battery units. But usually, trips taken in these cars must be well-calculated; otherwise, you will get stuck at some place where you can’t access a charging station for your car battery. In essence, using electric cars means that your journey must start and end at the same place. In addition, one must not spend more time than the amount the battery is meant to spend when on the road.
A much-needed change
Alphabet wants to take care of this situation by introducing the ability to charge Google Cars battery units wirelessly. This news comes from a recent FCC filing made by the company, showing that the company might unveil its self-driving cars equipped with wireless charging.
This is not something new as some commercial electric cars already have this capability. However, the level of technology available doesn’t allow this feature to work in the same capacity as the traditional wired charging.
While this might seem a mere idea at the moment, it will definitely be a huge welcome for owners of self-driving cars. This technology will make it a lot easier to charge electric cars in a bid to ensure that they travel longer distances. The introduction of wireless charging in self-driving Google Cars will mean owners of these cars will only need to park on top of a charging station and go get some air or maybe rest while the car gets juiced.
A company such as Uber, which has plans to use self-driving cars in its mission to take over the globe’s transport and delivery industry, will be glad to learn of these revelations. It will even be much better news for those who plan to use the robots behind the self-driving car’s wheel as a companion on a daily basis.