5 ms·

I wonder if we'll ever have recharging drones that sense your car is running low, pull ahead of you, and just start towing your car for a ways so you don't even

I wonder if we'll ever have recharging drones that sense your car is running low, pull ahead of you, and just start towing your car for a ways so you don't even have to stop.

croon 5y ago
I assume this is tongue-in-cheek, but just pulling up close to you and springing out a charging cable arm would be more efficient.
- devoutsalsa 5y ago
  Could you charge a car while driving it? I guess you can charge a laptop while using it. Why not!
  - xeromal 5y ago
    I don't think current cars can do that but I'm sure could be expanded to
- Retric 5y ago
  And even better just embed some wires in the road and charge everyone at highway speeds. Either ground-level power supply through conductive rails or inductive coils both work with different tradeoffs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road
  - ErikVandeWater 5y ago
    > Just embed some wires in the road... No offense but that is the most loaded phrase I've heard this week. That would be a major overhaul of both roads and electric car designs.
    - Retric 5y ago
      Several different systems are all at demonstration phases. EX: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/12/worlds-first-electrified-road-for-charging-vehicles-opens-in-sweden https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/12/worlds-f... I suspect the hard part is getting every car manufacturer to agree to the same system not designing something that works.
    - rsynnott 5y ago
      A somewhat more practical approach: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538030/germany-ehighway-siemens-vw-group-electrified-cables-wires-overhead-electric-hybrid-trucks https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538030/germany-ehighway-...
      - contravariant 5y ago
        Everything old is new again I suppose.
      - elihu 5y ago
        Overhead lines are probably the simplest and cheapest option, but the downside is that you're basically limited to trucks only due to the cable height, unless you also have a passenger car-only lane with lower cables. There's a test in Sweden that uses power rails embedded under the road surface. I like that approach because it's more versatile and looks better, but on the other hand it's also more expensive.
    - elihu 5y ago
      Sure, but it would be worth it. The cost is that you'd have to re-engineer maybe ten or twenty percent of major freeways and interstates (like have two miles of charging per every ten to twenty miles of regular road), and you'd need to establish a standard for trucks and passenger vehicles and get automakers to adopt it. (Or make it simple enough that it can be added as an aftermarket kit.) You'd also need to install more electrical generation capacity. (Fortunately, charging cars while they're driving shifts most of the charging from nighttime to daytime, when solar power can be used for this purpose.) The benefit is that you could reduce long-haul trucking fuel consumption to near zero and reduce the need for EVs to have heavy, expensive 200-mile-or-more-range batteries.
  - lucian1900 5y ago
    Trolleybuses are a much simpler design with better efficiency. And trains are even more efficient than that.
dronechariots 5y ago
At that point, why not just have drone chariots that pull you the whole way
- croon 5y ago
  New headline: "Tesla reaches destination without expending any energy!"
- unknown_error 5y ago
  Add a few string lights and you have a poor man's Helios
- SketchySeaBeast 5y ago
  ... And we've reinvented pod-racing.
- jmiserez 5y ago
  Or just hop on a car train (while staying in your car). It's super relaxing e.g through a tunnel, you just drive on and then off. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_shuttle_train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_shuttle_train for some examples.
rini17 5y ago
Or use horses or mules. Would be a sight to behold :)
BeefWellington 5y ago
Or you could have dyno-based chargers that work like automated car washes. Pull in to a stall, guided onto the drums, put in gear, go for a coffee. Cons: - Less efficient than using an actual electrical cable. - Requires larger infrastructure space. Pros: - Could work with any brand that has regenerative braking. - Could be adapted into existing automated car washes as a premium feature.
- waiseristy 5y ago
  - Increased wear on all powertrain components - Decrease the lifetime of your tires by 1/2

I wonder if we'll ever have recharging drones that sense your car is running low, pull ahead of you, and just start towing your car for a ways so you don't even have to stop.

croon 5y ago

I assume this is tongue-in-cheek, but just pulling up close to you and springing out a charging cable arm would be more efficient.

devoutsalsa 5y ago
Could you charge a car while driving it? I guess you can charge a laptop while using it. Why not!
- xeromal 5y ago
  I don't think current cars can do that but I'm sure could be expanded to
Retric 5y ago
And even better just embed some wires in the road and charge everyone at highway speeds. Either ground-level power supply through conductive rails or inductive coils both work with different tradeoffs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_road
- ErikVandeWater 5y ago
  > Just embed some wires in the road... No offense but that is the most loaded phrase I've heard this week. That would be a major overhaul of both roads and electric car designs.
  - Retric 5y ago
    Several different systems are all at demonstration phases. EX: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/12/worlds-first-electrified-road-for-charging-vehicles-opens-in-sweden https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/12/worlds-f... I suspect the hard part is getting every car manufacturer to agree to the same system not designing something that works.
  - rsynnott 5y ago
    A somewhat more practical approach: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538030/germany-ehighway-siemens-vw-group-electrified-cables-wires-overhead-electric-hybrid-trucks https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18538030/germany-ehighway-...
    - contravariant 5y ago
      Everything old is new again I suppose.
    - elihu 5y ago
      Overhead lines are probably the simplest and cheapest option, but the downside is that you're basically limited to trucks only due to the cable height, unless you also have a passenger car-only lane with lower cables. There's a test in Sweden that uses power rails embedded under the road surface. I like that approach because it's more versatile and looks better, but on the other hand it's also more expensive.
  - elihu 5y ago
    Sure, but it would be worth it. The cost is that you'd have to re-engineer maybe ten or twenty percent of major freeways and interstates (like have two miles of charging per every ten to twenty miles of regular road), and you'd need to establish a standard for trucks and passenger vehicles and get automakers to adopt it. (Or make it simple enough that it can be added as an aftermarket kit.) You'd also need to install more electrical generation capacity. (Fortunately, charging cars while they're driving shifts most of the charging from nighttime to daytime, when solar power can be used for this purpose.) The benefit is that you could reduce long-haul trucking fuel consumption to near zero and reduce the need for EVs to have heavy, expensive 200-mile-or-more-range batteries.
- lucian1900 5y ago
  Trolleybuses are a much simpler design with better efficiency. And trains are even more efficient than that.

dronechariots 5y ago

At that point, why not just have drone chariots that pull you the whole way

croon 5y ago
New headline: "Tesla reaches destination without expending any energy!"
unknown_error 5y ago
Add a few string lights and you have a poor man's Helios
SketchySeaBeast 5y ago
... And we've reinvented pod-racing.
jmiserez 5y ago
Or just hop on a car train (while staying in your car). It's super relaxing e.g through a tunnel, you just drive on and then off. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_shuttle_train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_shuttle_train for some examples.

rini17 5y ago

Or use horses or mules. Would be a sight to behold :)

BeefWellington 5y ago

Or you could have dyno-based chargers that work like automated car washes. Pull in to a stall, guided onto the drums, put in gear, go for a coffee. Cons: - Less efficient than using an actual electrical cable. - Requires larger infrastructure space. Pros: - Could work with any brand that has regenerative braking. - Could be adapted into existing automated car washes as a premium feature.

waiseristy 5y ago
- Increased wear on all powertrain components - Decrease the lifetime of your tires by 1/2