a b s t r a c tInductive charging, a form of wireless charging, uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects. This emerging technology offers an alternative solution to users having to physically plug in their electric vehicle (EV) to charge. Whilst manufacturers claim inductive charging technology is market ready, the efficiency of transfer of electrical energy is highly reliant on the accurate alignment of the coils involved. Therefore understanding the issue of parking misalignment and driver behaviour is an important human factors question, and the focus of this paper. Two studies were conducted, one a retrospective analysis of 100 pre-parked vehicles, the second a dynamic study where 10 participants parked an EV aiming to align with a charging pad with no bay markings as guidance. Results from both studies suggest that drivers are more accurate at parking laterally than in the longitudinal direction, with a mean lateral distance from the centre of the bay being 12.12 and 9.57 cm (retrospective and dynamic studies respectively) compared to longitudinally 23.73 and 73.48 cm. With current inductive charging systems having typical tolerances of approximately ±10 cm from their centre point, this study has shown that only 5% of vehicles in both studies would be aligned sufficiently accurately to allow efficient transfer of electrical energy through induction.

In the UK, severe infestations by Plutella xylostella occur sporadically and are due mainly to the immigration of moths. The aim of this study was to develop a more detailed understanding of the phenology of P. xylostella in the UK and investigate methods of monitoring moth activity, with the aim of providing warnings to growers. Plutella xylostella was monitored using pheromone traps, by counting immature stages on plants, and by accessing citizen science data (records of sightings of moths) from websites and Twitter. The likely origin of migrant moths was investigated by analysing historical weather data. The study confirmed that P. xylostella is a sporadic but important pest, and that very large numbers of moths can arrive suddenly, most often in early summer. Their immediate sources are countries in the western part of continental Europe. A network of pheromone traps, each containing a small camera sending images to a website, to monitor P. xylostella remotely provided accessible and timely information, but the particular system tested did not appear to catch many moths. In another approach, sightings by citizen scientists were summarised on a web page. These were accessed regularly by growers and, at present, this approach appears to be the most effective way of providing timely warnings.

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It is well established that the efficiency of transfer of electrical energy through induction is highly reliant on accurate alignment of the coils involved – in this case, between a primary coil in the parking bay and a secondary coil mounted on the vehicle. Whist inductive charging technology is market ready, understanding the issue of misalignment is an important human factors question and the focus of this paper. A retrospective assessment of parking behavior was conducted by recording parking orientation and alignment of 100 vehicles, parked in perpendicular bays, in three different car parks at the University of Warwick. Results showed on average vehicles tended to park 3.1 cm to the left of the bay, with an angle of practically zero. Parking was typically towards the rear of the bay; however the presence of a physical barrier led to vehicles being parked more centrally. The orientation of the parked vehicle had little impact on accuracy. Tolerances for misalignment with inductive charging systems are small in comparison to the distribution of parking accuracy observed in this study, at 15-20 cm verses 120 cm respectively. Conclusions were that only 5% of vehicles were parked sufficiently accurately to allow inductive power transfer to commence.