view . fall 2012
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Bryan Esteban is working on research that could change the
face of electrified transportation.
A master’s candidate in electrical engineering, Esteban works
as a research associate at the University’s Centre for Hybrid
Automotive Research and Green Energy (CHARGE). He is
collaborating with the Faculty of Engineering on a prototype project
that he actually began as a student.
Esteban hopes to provide a new
way for electric vehicle (EV) owners
to charge their vehicles, also known
as “wireless power transfer”. This
new approach would allow drivers
to charge an electric vehicle without
physically connecting a plug from the
vehicle to a power source. Esteban’s
system would do it automatically.
“The general essence of this
technology is that you have one disc-
like coil attached to the ground of a
garage, and a second coil mounted on
the bottom of a car,” says Esteban. A magnetic field is generated
on the bottom coil, which stores potential energy. When a car parks
over the bottom coil, it draws on the stored energy to charge the car.
Esteban says the system would detect if the car needs charging
and dispense the correct amount. When enough energy is
transferred, the system would automatically disengage.
“The main thing is convenience,” Esteban says. “With this
technology you could automate the process of fuelling your vehicle.”
Dr. Maher Sid-Ahmed, department head of Electrical
Engineering, initiated the idea, suggesting it to his engineering
students as one possibility for their final year major projects.
“Wireless charging will play a big role in electric vehicle design,”
says Sid-Ahmed. “An EV battery can be charged wirelessly in
special designed parking spaces in hotels, shopping malls, highway
rest areas and at home. Charging can start by activating an app in
a smart phone. The amount of energy used to charge the battery is
then stored on the phone and eventually sent to the utility company
to be added to the utility bill of the car owner.”
Esteban hopes that the system will one day be found in home
garages as well as public parking spots and workplaces. If a driver
accesses a public system, billing could be done electronically,
perhaps by e-mail or a smart phone application.
“This is something brand new,” says Esteban of the prototype.
“When the opportunity to work on this project at CHARGE arose,
right away I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Esteban was born in England where his parents had emigrated
to from Venezuela to learn English.
They returned to Venezuela in 1995,
when he was 12, but then moved
to Canada in 2001 to escape the
deteriorating political and economic
situation at home. Esteban enrolled at
the University of Windsor in electrical
engineering 2005 when his mother
joined the Faculty of Education as an
assistant professor.
Upon graduation in 2011, he
had two job offers waiting for him,
but decided to pursue his Masters
of Applied Sciences in Electrical
Engineering at UWindsor instead.
“My decision to remain here after my undergrad was based on
the support from the department and my professors,” he says.
Esteban’s work is being conducted in the University’s Centre
for Engineering Innovation (CEI). “It’s clean, it’s spacious, and it’s
very modern and state-of-the-art. The equipment they have here is
amazing,” he says of the facility. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”
Working in the new CEI building is also making a difference in
research and how students respond to the learning experience.
“It makes a difference in how you feel,” Esteban adds. “If you’re
in a crammed lab with instruments and tools that are old, you don’t
feel as motivated.”
Looking into the future, Esteban hopes to get the prototype fully
functional, ready to “transfer even a kilowatt of power,” as well as
complete his graduate studies. “With a finished system, perhaps a
partnership can be formed to promote this sort of technology,”
says Esteban.
“This has been a very steep learning curve, but challenges come
along with any new endeavour.”
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STUDENT PROFILE
Student writer Jenna Bontorin is in her second year of the Digital Journalism Program at the University of Windsor.
BY Jenna Bontorin
“This has been a very steep
learning curve, but
challenges come along
with any new endeavour.”
BRYAN ESTEBAN
ALL CHARGED UP
Bryan Esteban
