Researchers at USU Receive Patent for Project that Began with Undergraduate Research Grant

News Release — January 26, 2022 — Researchers at Utah State University were awarded a patent this month for a control algorithm they developed to improve the process of wirelessly charging vehicles in motion.

Matthew Hansen, a Ph.D. student in the College of Engineering, and his mentors Regan Zane, the director of the ASPIRE research center at USU, and Abhilash Kamineni, a USU assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, are listed as the inventors for the control algorithm on the patent application.

Hansen began this research in 2019 as an undergraduate senior thanks to the support of an undergraduate research grant from the College of Engineering.

The work took place through the ASPIRE research center, which stands for Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification. The idea to develop this control algorithm, which regulates how the active switching of power occurs while vehicles are driving, came from Kamineni.

Charging vehicles in motion requires wireless power transfer. To reduce power losses and allow the vehicle, which receives the power, to regulate power transfer, active switching can be used.

For active switching to be effective, there needs to be synchronization between the coil in the road that provides power and the vehicle. There also needs to be a way for the coil in the road to recognize when a vehicle is present. The system Hansen and his team developed addressed both of these issues without requiring additional, fragile hardware.

“The first breakthrough was realizing that I could control switching on the roadway side with current induced by the vehicle,” Hansen said. “That could also be the signal to turn on the roadway coil and synchronize the roadway coil.”

The new control algorithm developed from Hansen’s research uses existing devices but provides a new way to address the challenges of wireless charging. Hansen said he is excited to have his efforts recognized with a patent.

“It is validating that it’s real,” he said. “The U.S. Patent Office looked at it and decided, yes, this is a real contribution.”

Hansen is now a Ph.D. student and said beginning this research project as an undergraduate played an important role in helping him decide to continue his education and to remain at Utah State.

“Working on this project was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was really exciting to just be trying new things.”

The work he has done with electric transportation and wireless charging will shape a significant part of Hansen’s dissertation as well as guide his next career steps after graduation.

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Writer: Matilyn Mortensen, matilyn.mortensen@usu.edu, 435-797-7512

Contact: Matt Hansen, matthew.hansen@usu.edu