The autonomous charging robot (ACR) for electric vehicles, Hyundai IONIQ 6, is a one-arm robot that can insert a cable into a charging port on an EV and then remove it once charging is finished.

Once the car is stopped, the ACR uses a camera located inside to determine the precise location and angle to unlock the charging port. The charging session begins when the robot picks up the charger and secures it to the vehicle's charging port. When charging is finished, a robot removes the charger, puts it back where it belongs, and shuts the charging port cover.

“The ACR will help to make EV-charging easier and more convenient, especially in dark environments. It will also improve accessibility, particularly for people with mobility barriers, as charging cables become thicker and heavier to enable high-speed charging,” said Dong Jin Hyun, Head of the Robotics Lab, Hyundai Motor Group. “We will continue developing the ACR for increased safety and more convenience so that all EV customers can soon benefit from using it at charging stations,” he added.

The Group's cutting-edge robot technology is demonstrated by the ACR, which at first appearance would seem to be incredibly straightforward. When creating the ACR, Hyundai's Robotics Lab considered various factors, including the vehicle's parking spot, the design of the charging port, the weather, potential impediments, and the weight of the charging wire.

Software that can calculate all of these variables at once is necessary for a robot to tie a charger to the charging port securely. The Group has created an algorithm that integrates robotics with 3D camera-based AI technology to achieve this. Robots can precisely handle hefty charges thanks to next-generation control technology based on this application.

Hyundai's engineers created a custom outdoor electric vehicle charging station at its R&D center to test performance under various situations because most EV chargers are deployed outdoors without cover. The ACR's performance has been enhanced to run steadily even in harsh settings, earning it an IP65 waterproof and dustproof rating. Also, researchers have added a safety pole with a built-in laser sensor around the robot to help it detect fixed and moving impediments, which will help prevent mishaps.

Hyundai anticipates that automatic charging robots will greatly improve the convenience of EV charging and, in the future, when integrated with autonomous parking control systems, can improve utilization by charging numerous parked cars in succession.

The newly launched ACR will be exhibited at Hyundai Motor's exhibit booth at the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show, which runs from March 31 to April 9 at KINTEX in Ilsan-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

According to interestingengineering.com