For a while now, the Hyundai Motor Group has grown into a robotics company as much as a car manufacturer, giving the world a glimpse into a fascinating and slightly frightening future. It doesn’t scale the post-apocalyptic rubble of a future dystopia for the sake of it, but it does make people move around more conveniently.
Automatic Charging Robots (ACR) are designed to allow electric vehicles to be plugged in and charged without the driver even needing to break a window. After revealing his CGI animation of the design in 2022, Hyundai is now releasing a video of the prototype in action.
Hyundai pairs a single-arm ACR with a fast-charging Ioniq 6 for its demonstration. Drivers take advantage of the Ioniq 6’s automated parking feature to return the car to the charging bay from the outside. ACR then communicates with the vehicle to open the charging port and uses a camera to identify the exact location of the port and the angle of the charging port.
A robotic arm then attaches a charger to the port and begins charging, warning that a pedestrian is about to step directly onto the cable. Once charging is registered as complete, ACR retracts the charger and closes the vehicle’s charging port.
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It looks very simple in the video, but in order to ensure a secure connection between the charger and the vehicle, it combines information about the exact parking position of the vehicle, the shape of the charging port, the weather, the weight of the charging cable, and much more. variables and calculations are required. To achieve this, Hyundai Group’s Robotics Lab has developed an algorithm that applies his 3D camera-based AI technology to robots.
To ensure that the ACR can operate in real outdoor conditions, the lab built a bespoke outdoor charging station in its R&D center, tested and improved to operate in a variety of conditions. ACR says he has IP65 water and dust resistance, allowing it to operate in “extreme environments,” Hyundai said. Safety poles with integrated laser sensors identify stationary and moving obstacles to prevent accidents, as they did by warning pedestrians with video.
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Dong Jin Hyun, Head of Hyundai Group Robotics Lab, said: It also increases accessibility, especially for people with mobility barriers, as the charging cable is thicker and heavier to allow for faster charging. We will continue to develop ACR to enhance safety and convenience so that all EV customers can use it immediately. at the charging station. ”
Hyundai also cites the idea of combining ACR with an automated parking control system to “improve utilization by sequentially charging multiple parked vehicles” to increase the efficiency of the entire system. I’m not suggesting how it would work, but I would like the robot to move between multiple vehicles or prompt each vehicle to move out of its charging bay after it’s done charging so that it can move from one vehicle to another. Either process could prove to be a very useful addition at high-demand public charging sites.
ACR isn’t ready for deployment yet, but Hyundai plans to showcase the system at the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show, which starts March 30.
Newly Developed Automatic Charging Robot (ACR) for Electric Vehicles l Hyundai Motor Group
Source: Hyundai
