There seems to be a robot for every occasion.
You've got robots that deliver food, groceries and medication. You've got robots serving as security guards and Ford patented plans for a vehicle that is so wired that it could autonomously hit the road if the owner falls behind on the payments.
So how about a robot to charge your electric vehicle? Well, Hyundai (HYMTF) is on the case.
The South Korean automaker recently announced its automatic charging robot (ARC), which can plug a cable into an EV’s charging port and remove it once the job is done.
The company posted a video on YouTube of the one-armed robot charging up an Hyundai Ioniq 6, which is due to be launched this spring, while the driver goes for a stroll.
Untouched by Human Hands
The robot closes the charge port door when the car is fully charged, sends a notification to the owner's smartphone and even flashes "BYE" as the motorist departs.
“The ACR will help to make EV-charging easier and more convenient, especially in dark environments," Dong Jin Hyun, head of Hyundai’s Robotics Lab said in a statement. "It will also improve accessibility, particularly for people with mobility barriers, as charging cables become thicker and heavier to enable high-speed charging."
Hyundai said it developed an algorithm that applies 3D camera-based AI technology to robots, and tech based on this application allows robots to accurately handle heavy chargers.
In developing the ACR, the lab considered such variables as the parking location of the vehicle, the shape of the charging port, the weather, potential obstacles and weight of the charging cable.
“Hyundai using advanced optics and artificial intelligence to improve the electric vehicle charging is not surprising,” said Brian V. Larson, marketing professor at Widener University. “These are two valuable technologies that organizations are now regularly integrating into their operations to make the process faster, cheaper, or the experience better for the customer.”
Technology 'Wonderful and 'Well-Applied'
Larson described the technology as "wonderful and well-applied."
"Together the cameras and artificial intelligence unite to bring a true benefit to the electric vehicle customers: worry-free and hands-free charging for his or her EV," he said "Convenience sells. If you can eliminate an inconvenience for a customer, you've done them a favor and brought greater value to their experience."
The ACR will be displayed at the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show from March 31 to April 9. However, in all fairness, the ARC is not the first robot car charger.
Tesla (TSLA) announced an “automatic snake charger” for its vehicles in 2015 and CEO Elon Musk promised in 2020 that it was going to happen, although little has been done about it since then.
In 2019, Volkswagen announced a concept for a charging butler robot that can charge electric vehicles in a parking garage using mobile battery packs.
A year later, the Chinese company Aiways said it had been granted seven patents across Europe and China that covered its autonomous mobile charging robot CARL.
And in January, Stellantis (STLA) revealed an inductive autonomous charging robot alongside the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept at the CES electronics trade show in January.
