For the skies: Exploring tomorrow’s wireless power transfer technologies

Volker Ziegler (Airbus Central Research and Technology, Germany)

Biography: Volker Ziegler received his Dipl.-Ing. degree in electrical engineering and his Dr.-Ing. degree (with honors) both from the University of Ulm, Germany, in 1997 and 2001, respectively. From 2002 to 2003, he was a member of the “Knowledge Exchange Group for Research and Technology” at the DaimlerChrysler AG in Stuttgart, Germany. Afterwards, he joined EADS Innovation Works, Ottobrunn, Germany, where he became an EADS Expert for “Microwave Technologies and Systems” in 2007. From 2013 to 2017, he was the Team Leader for “RF and Waveforms” as well as for “Automatic Flight Systems” and Ho Dept. “Automatic Flight and Communications”. Since 2018, he is the Head of Department “Communication Technologies” within Airbus Central Research and Technology, responsible for the advanced research performed in the field of RF and optical communication systems as well as embedded computing platforms for aeronautic and space-borne platforms. Volker Ziegler is senior member of the IEEE and a founding member of the TC 29 on Microwave Aerospace Systems, member of the IEEE MTT Antennas & Propagation German Chapter Executive Board and the VDI ITG focused group on microwave technologies.  He authored or co-authored more than 100 papers, holds 15 patents.

Abstract: Wireless power transfer (WPT) is transforming our daily life by enabling convenient, cable-free charging of devices and cars amongst other new user experiences and services. These innovations are raising the exciting question: Can these short- and long-range WPT technologies also revolutionize certain aspects of airplanes and satellites or even pave the way to renewable energy sources from space and airborne energy distribution networks ?