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The Resonant Inductive Near-Field Generation System uses a single set of hardware to perform both electromagnetic formation flight and wireless power transfer operations in a six-degree-of-freedom microgravity environment. The system serves primarily as a test bed for control algorithms, and operation onboard the International Space Station allows for more complicated and realistic algorithms to be tested. This offers an advantage compared with the restrictive, dynamic environment of flat floor facilities on the ground or the limited duration of reduced-gravity flights. The hardware attaches to the formation flight-test facility inside the International Space Station referred to as the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites. Design and development of the support hardware and electronics, as well as some test results from ground testing, a parabolic flight campaign, and preliminary test sessions on the International Space Station are presented. Ground tests and the parabolic flight campaign results include preliminary inertia and thruster characterization of the combined Resonant Inductive Near-field Generation System/Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites assembly. Preliminary on-orbit test results include data demonstrating wireless power transfer of approximately 30% and qualitative observations of electromagnetic formation flight with one Resonant Inductive Near-Field Generation System unit restrained and the other unit free floating.

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Resonant Inductive Coupling Wireless Power Transfer is a key technology to provide an efficient and harmless wireless energy channel to consumer electronics, biomedical implants and wireless sensor networks. However, current applications are limited to point-to-point links and do not explore the capabilities of Multi-Node Resonant Inductive Coupling Wireless Power Transfer Systems. In such a system, the multi-path relaying effect between different nodes could effectively improve the performance of the link in terms of power transferred to the load and power transfer efficiency. However, depending on the impedance and resonant frequency of the nodes that generate the multi-path effect, these nodes could also act as interfering objects, therefore a) making the transmitter and/or receiver act as a pass-band filter and b) loosing part of the transmitter magnetic field through coupling to the interfering node. In this article, a circuit-based analytical model that predicts the behavior of a Multi-Node Resonant Inductive Coupling link is proposed and used to perform a design-space exploration of the multi-path relaying effect in RIC Wireless Power Transfer Systems.978-1-4799-8391-9/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE