This is how electric cars will be charged in the future, according to Volkswagen

As we have pointed out on more than one occasion, the future of individual mobility undoubtedly lies with the battery electric car. For this reason, new advances and technologies that directly affect how the ‘clean’ vehicle works are undergoing changes with the aim of making day-to-day life with a car of this kind more manageable. It is at this exact point that Volkswagen currently finds itself, and it gives us some details on how future electric cars will be charged.

Firstly, Volkswagen foresees a promising future within its range of purely electric vehicles, where their range will exceed 500 kilometres. Given this ambitious goal in the near future, the German firm has already announced that it is devising an automated, fast-charging system for these next-generation electric vehicles.

It is called E-Smart Connect, and it is a system aimed at easing the fast-charging process, which today requires the owner to manually connect the power-supply cables, which are heavy and stiff, to their electric car. To make this process easier, Volkswagen will use this system combined with a KUKA LBR iiwa robot, which has seven motor axes and integrated torque sensors, allowing it to autonomously and safely connect the charging cable to the electric vehicle.

This system, whose sole purpose is to spare the driver from having to connect the charging cables to the vehicle themselves, will be designed for use in a private garage or in a public car park with designated charging areas. At the same time, it requires an area of space around the charging point measuring 20 x 20 centimetres, while a camera will determine the exact position of the charging socket so that the robot can connect the charger. Once charging has finished, the robot itself will automatically disconnect the cable.

Source | Volkswagen