In the near future, the chore of charging an electric vehicle could be carried out by an autonomous robot, which can be summoned when you need a top-up.
Aiways, the Shanghai-based mobility company, has been granted seven patents across Europe and China to develop its autonomous charging robot, including the intelligent robot design and charging method. The device named ‘CARL’, which moves around on wheels and has on-board charging capabilities helps to solve challenges around charging an electric vehicle.
Developed with 30kwh and 60kwh capacities, CARL can provide a fast charge to any EV with a recognized charging standard. Re-charging an EV battery to 80% in under 50 minutes, CARL offers a flexible and economical charging solution to private and corporate customers, as well as infrastructure developers and operators.
Having parked their vehicle in public, home or workplace car parks, EV owners can summon a CARL located nearby via a smartphone app and leave. The robot will then use GPS data to locate the vehicle within the area in which it operates, plug in and start charging it automatically. Once the charging process is complete, CARL will continue to the next user, or return to its base station.
“Instead of drivers trying to find a charger, the charger will find them,” said Alex Klose, vice president for overseas operations at Aiways. “We want to make EV ownership as simple, easy and enjoyable as possible, and CARL provides a blueprint for how EVs can be charged in the future.”
