Electric vehicles are proving more complex than internal combustion versions, in the minds of many consumers. This is because, they say, operating them takes more of their time than gasoline versions. Managing the recharging cycle can be especially time consuming. However. Hyundai and Kia are simplifying electric vehicle charging, so the driver does not have to step outside their EV to assist.
Moving Towards Autonomous Electric Vehicle Charging
Interesting Engineering suggests that Kia and Hyundai are smoothing the transition to fully autonomous vehicles. That could be days in the future when we might send the EV to find a charger, while we dine with friends in a restaurant. Or, are we being too imaginative perhaps?
The design is imaginative too. Hyundai describes how the robot charger-on-wheels announces itself to the vehicle parked in a bay. And then plugs in the cable after the EV opens the flap, using a 3-D camera-based artificial intelligence algorithm.
When the job is done, the robot withdraws the cable, the vehicle closes the charging flap, and the job is complete. Simplifying electric vehicle charging sounds so simple, but there is more to it than that.
In the alpha phase, the system will already simplify drivers’ lives. Later they could become superfluous, as far as recharging their autonomous vehicles is concerned. The automatic charging robot is even more interesting when we dig deeper.
Simplifying the Automatic Link-Up With the Vehicle
Even mere humans sometimes bump into the side of an electric vehicle, when inserting the charging plug. Hyundai and Kia have gone to great lengths to simplify electric vehicle charging by a robot. This involves allowing for a number of variables, including the weather, and potential obstacles nearby.
Their automatic robot uses 3-D technology to simultaneously calculate these variables, which also include the shape of the charging port. Next-generation control technology, guides the robot through the intricacies of the task.
A safety pole with a built-in laser sensor to avoid obstructions, completes the array of equipment that replaces human arms, hands and eyes. At this stage we could perhaps say thank the stars, the robot is not pumping in highly flammable, carbon polluting gasoline!
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