Abstract
This paper proposes a method for simultaneous laser energy transmission and motion control of micro vehicles. Both the energy transmission and the remote control are achieved simultaneously with the same light path of two lasers. A green laser and a laser diode are used independently for the navigation and the energy transmission, respectively. Core technology of the system is the laser tracking, in which the direction of the tracking laser beam is changed by a galvano mirror so as to keep chasing the position of the corner-cube reflector mounted on the vehicle. In addition, by using a pulsing oscillation of the tracking laser, the vehicle is able to receive operation commands as a frequency change of the pulse. A beam of the laser diode runs parallel to the tracking beam and is radiated to the solar cells mounted on the vehicle. Then the photoelectrically converted power is supplied for the DC motors and control circuits on the vehicle. Experiments with a small wheeled-vehicle were conducted, and the results show that proposed system exhibits sufficient performance for controlling and supplying power to the micro vehicle.
