Qualcomm built a wirelessly charged RC Formula One car

0 July 6, 2015, 11:31 a.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Qualcomm, a San Diego-based semiconductor and telecommunications company that makes everything from satellites to smartphone processors, is currently working on building technology to allow full-size electric cars to charge wirelessly. The possibilities for such a breakthrough are endless, from easier charging at home to vastly improved infrastructure in major cities around the world. Can you imagine being parked at a stop light and your car being charged by the road below?

Qualcomm started by building a small-scale radio control car that gets powered up when driven onto a charging pad. In this video, they show off the car built to look like a Formula E racer - by taking it for a spin alongside Lucas di Grassi in a real Formula E car.

Qualcomm also posted a cool "behind the scenes" video from the day as well:

Like any video shoot, there were multiple takes used to create a seamless video - but everything you saw here actually happened. As it turns out, Qualcomm enlisted the help of a couple of RC enthusiasts who've created successful YouTube channels to prepare cars and make everything run smoothly. Both Hemistorm RC and Urban RC LA posted their own Behind the Scenes videos showing the custom bodies being painted, and how nearly a dozen Tamiya F104 cars - with various running equipment, including one that can actually be charged wirelessly - were used for different parts of the video.