Hyundai has developed an automatic charging robot (ACR) for electric vehicles (EV), and released a video showing its capabilities. The ACR for EVs is a one-arm robot capable of plugging a cable into an EV’s charging port and removing it again once charging is complete. The new video of the real robot in action follows up on a CGI version released by Hyundai in July last year.
The new video begins with a scene in which the Ioniq 6 parks autonomously in an EV-charging bay. Once the vehicle is stationary, the ACR communicates with the vehicle to open the charging port, calculating the exact location and angle through a camera mounted inside. The robot then picks up the charger and fastens it to the vehicle’s charging port, thus starting the charging session. Once charging is complete, the robot removes the charger, returns it to its rightful place, and closes the cover of the vehicle’s charging port.
The ACR, which may appear deceptively
simple at first glance, is an example of Hyundai’s advanced robot
technology. The company’s Robotics Lab has considered diverse variables
in developing the ACR, such as the parking location of the vehicle, the
shape of the charging port, the weather, potential obstacles and weight
of the charging cable.
In order for a robot to fasten a charger
to the charging port securely, software technology that can
simultaneously calculate these multiple variables is required. To this
end, Hyundai has developed an algorithm that applies 3D camera-based AI
technology to robots, and next-generation control technology based on
this application allows robots to accurately handle heavy chargers.
Given that that most EV chargers are
installed outdoors without cover, Hyundai’s engineers built a bespoke
outdoor electric vehicle charging station at its R&D center and
evaluated performance in various conditions. As a result, the ACR has
secured a waterproof and dustproof grade of IP65 , and its performance
has been greatly improved so that it can be stably operated even in
extreme environments. In addition, engineers have installed a safety
pole with a built-in laser sensor around the robot to prevent possible
accidents by enabling it to detect stationary and moving obstacles.
Hyundai
expects automatic charging robots to significantly increase convenience
of EV charging, and if combined with autonomous parking control systems
in future, can improve utilization by sequentially charging several
parked vehicles.
