Tonks, Gabriel Michael (Utah State University), Jones, Taryn (Utah State University), Buxton, Tyson (Utah State University), Harper, Mario (Utah State University)

CARLACharge: A Versatile Simulator for Wireless Charging Roadways in Diverse Urban, Highway, and High-Traffic Environments

Scheduled for presentation during the Invited Session "S19a-Artificial Transportation Systems and Simulation" (TH-LM-T19), Thursday, November 20, 2025, 10:50−11:10, Surfers Paradise 1

2025 IEEE 28th International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), November 18-21, 2025, Gold Coast, Australia

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on October 18, 2025

Abstract

Wireless in-road charging presents a scalable solution for extending the range of electric vehicles (EVs), reducing battery size, and supporting continuous operation in high-traffic corridors. To facilitate early-stage planning and reduce the cost of physical prototyping, we introduce CARLACharge, an open-source extension to the CARLA simulator designed for modeling electric vehicle energy consumption and in-road wireless charging interactions. CARLACharge integrates vehicle powertrain modeling, dynamic state-of-charge tracking, and experimentally grounded wireless charging profiles, allowing researchers to assess the effectiveness of infrastructure under diverse traffic and behavioral scenarios. The platform supports both autonomous and human-operated driving and offers tools for evaluating charger placement, energy delivery, and vehicle-level impacts. By simulating wireless charging infrastructure within realistic roadway environments, CARLACharge provides ITS researchers and planners with a practical tool for informed, simulation-driven electrification strategies. Source code is publicly available at: https://github.com/DIRECTLab/carla-energy-consumption.