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Imagine parking your electric vehicle (EV) and charging it without plugging in a cable. Wireless charging makes this possible, but efficient charging requires precise alignment between the vehicle's receiver coil and the charging pad. Researchers at the University of Osaka, working with Tokai Rika Co., Ltd. and the University of California San Diego, have developed a technology that could help vehicles do just that.

Using ultra-wideband (UWB) radio signals, the same short-range wireless technology used in some digital car keys, the system accurately determines where the vehicle's charging coil sits over a wireless charging pad and which way the vehicle is facing.

This study was published in the IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology on Aug. 26, 2026.

Wireless EV charging transfers electricity from a ground-mounted pad to a coil beneath the vehicle. However, if the coil is a few centimeters off-center or the vehicle is misaligned, charging efficiency can decrease, potentially increasing charging time. Existing magnetic positioning systems generally work best when the coil is close to the pad, while cameras can struggle with rain, dirt or poor lighting.

The team developed a two-step positioning method combining radio-signal travel times with phase differences. Travel times first give the vehicle's approximate location; phase differences, which are tiny shifts in how the radio waves arrive at each device on the vehicle, then refine its position and orientation.

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