Say Goodbye to Plugging In: Hyundai’s Incredible EV Charging Robot!
The Group, Hyundai Motor, has created a charging robot for electric vehicles called the automatic charging robot (ACR). A video showcasing the ACR's abilities has been released by the company.
The ACR for electric vehicles is a robot that can insert and remove a charging cable into/from an EV's charging port. The Group released a CGI version of the robot in July last year, and now a new video shows the real robot in action. The video starts with a Hyundai Ioniq 6 parking itself in an EV-charging bay. The ACR communicates with the car to open the charging port and uses a camera mounted inside to calculate the exact location and angle.
The charging process begins as the robot takes the charger and attaches it to the charging port of the vehicle. Once the charging is finished, the robot unhooks the charger, places it back in its designated spot, and shuts the cover of the charging port.
According to Dong Jin Hyun, the Head of Robotics Lab at Hyundai Motor Group, the ACR will make EV-charging simpler and more convenient, particularly in dark surroundings. It will also provide better accessibility for individuals with mobility barriers, as charging cables become heavier and thicker to enable high-speed charging. The Robotics Lab of the Group has taken into account various factors in the development of the ACR, such as the parking location of the automobile, the form of the charging port, the weather, potential obstacles, and the weight of the charging cable. The ACR, which may seem uncomplicated at first glance, is an example of the Group's sophisticated robotic technology. The Group will continue to enhance the ACR's safety and convenience so that all EV customers can benefit from using it at charging stations in the near future.
To ensure a secure connection between a charger and its charging port, it is necessary to have software technology that can calculate multiple variables at the same time. The Group has created an algorithm that uses 3D camera-based AI technology and advanced control technology to enable robots to handle heavy chargers with accuracy.
The engineers at the Group's R&D center designed a customized electric vehicle charging station for outdoor use and tested it under different conditions. As a result, the ACR has obtained an IP65 (The product provides maximum dust protection and can endure low-pressure water jets from any direction) waterproof and dustproof rating, improving its performance and making it capable of functioning reliably in challenging environments. Furthermore, a safety pole with a laser sensor has been installed around the robot to ensure that it can identify and avoid obstacles that may cause accidents.
According to the Group, the use of automatic charging robots will greatly enhance the convenience of electric vehicle charging. Moreover, if these robots are combined with autonomous parking control systems in the future, it will enable sequential charging of multiple parked vehicles, improving utilization. The recently launched ACR will be showcased at Hyundai Motor's exhibition booth during the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show, which will take place from March 31 to April 9 at KINTEX.
