RWC: A Robust Wireless Charging System for Dockless Bike-Sharing

Abstract

Bike-sharing, especially dockless bike-sharing, is making a sensational progress of public transportation recently. The implementation of smart locking/unlocking module for shared-bikes has produced the issue of how to charge those modules efficiently for shared-bikes. Existing shared-bike charging technologies rarely take charging delay or user experience into consideration. In this paper, we propose RWC, a robust wireless charging system for dockless bike-sharing, which can provide stable recharging service without decreasing bike-sharing system's service quality. RWC recharges shared-bikes via radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting. We design an RF wireless charging sensor node to integrate it on a bike's basket, such that the mutual interference during charging process and space occupation can be reduced. RWC also includes a charging direction scheduling algorithm to reduce charging delay. The RWC system has been successfully implemented on a dockless bike-sharing system, which proves its effectiveness.