This prototype system is being tried in Geneva; the following brief video explains the process.
I was interested in this technology for several reasons. The video doesn't say, but I'm wondering if this bus avoids one of the problems with electric vehicles, which is the big battery. A typical Tesla has a 75KWh battery, which can give it several hundred miles of range. But that's a lot of expense, and adds a lot of weight. It's the only way, though; most people doing distance driving are inured to stopping for a while every three hours or so anyway.
But what if you had a scenario where the electric vehicle stopped for a minute every couple of miles? Then, you wouldn't need a very big battery, and you'd save the weight and the expense and the carbon footprint.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'