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New York Manhole Covers To Deliver Power to Electric Vehicles

• forgotAgain 13y ago
  ... reservable parking spots featuring what look like manholes in the pavement, but are in fact wireless charging devices that will give the trucks a little more juice while they sit. From the title I assumed that the cars were being charged as the passed over the manhole covers. That would have been much more interesting than what this service really is about.
• jlgreco 13y ago
  Interesting idea, though it won't scale as easily as plugs would (since plugs require less hardware at each location). Of course plugs have more hassle and can be unplugged by teenagers who thing they are clever, so there is probably a strong niche for this.
• codex 13y ago
  Given the gridlock common in mega cities, these chargers should be installed at every stop light.
• raldi 13y ago
  You had me at "reservable parking space"
• qwerty_asdf 13y ago
  Mother of God. How much induction is that? Is the magnetic field more or less powerful than one of those industrial-strength magnetic junkyard cranes? Will my wristwatch run backwards? Are my tap dancing shoes safe to wear around these things?
  • oakwhiz 13y ago
    More concerning is the possibility of interference with medical devices, especially implants. It's not just a "may cause harmful interference" problem either: Many cardiac implants have an emergency shutoff feature which is actually intentionally triggered by placing a permanent magnet over the skin where the implant is located. Don't get me wrong - wireless charging is great, and provides a great deal of convenience, but it may be wise to reconsider the placement of large magnetic fields in publicly accessible places. We wouldn't want some person walking down the street to suddenly become injured just by walking past one of these chargers.