Frictionless Electromagnetic Braking for Electric and Autonomous Vehicles: Contactless Operating Principles, Brake-by-Wire Integration, and Research Challenges: A Critical Review

Eddy-current braking is increasingly considered a promising complementary technology to conventional hydraulic braking systems in next-generation automotive platforms, particularly in electric and autonomous vehicles. Unlike traditional friction-based systems, eddy-current braking enables the contactless generation of braking torque and can reduce mechanical wear while potentially providing rapid and controllable torque modulation and facilitating integration with intelligent vehicle-control architectures. However, a consistent vehicle-level response-time advantage over conventional braking systems has not yet been established through quantitative comparative testing. This paper presents a critical review of electromagnetic braking systems intended for automotive applications. This review analyzes the integration of electromagnetic braking technologies with embedded electronic control architectures, with particular emphasis on their potential role in future Brake-by-Wire systems. This study examines the operating principles of contactless braking, control strategies, actuator behavior, and system performance under variable operating conditions. In addition, key challenges related to energy efficiency, thermal management, fail-safe operation, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities of electronically controlled braking systems are discussed. The reviewed literature demonstrates the potential of contactless eddy-current braking technologies to support the development of advanced Brake-by-Wire architectures with reduced maintenance requirements and enhanced vehicle dynamics control. However, current evidence supports their use primarily as complementary actuators within hybrid architectures combining electromagnetic, regenerative, and conventional friction braking, rather than as stand-alone replacements for conventional brakes. This review provides a foundation for future research and development of intelligent contactless braking systems for modern automotive applications.