The robots are coming to charge your EV
So you’re driving your electric vehicle (EV) and want to charge it, but when you get to the station, all the chargers are in use. That’s a challenge for EV owners, and one Volkswagen is working to overcome.
The automaker has unveiled a prototype design for a mobile-charging robot that will bring the charging station to the vehicle.
The robot is intended to be used in self- contained areas, such as a parking garage. After a driver parks, the process is started through a phone app, or through carto- X communication, with the car “talking” to the robotic system.
The system is entirely autonomous. Once summoned, the robot attaches to an energy storage unit and takes it to the vehicle. It opens the car’s charging port and plugs the unit in, and after the vehicle is charged, unplugs the unit and returns it to a central location where it’s recharged for the next call. Because the robot only delivers the charger and doesn’t have to stay with the car, it can service as many vehicles as there are charging units for them.
A major benefit of the system, the company said, is that it can effectively “electrify” every parking space in a garage, without the work and cost for construction to run wires and install a separate charger at each spot.
The autonomous robot has reached prototype status but is waiting primarily on car- to- X communication that can be used in real-world situations.