Volkswagen has just teased a charging robot inspired by R2D2, and it's giving us all the Star Wars vibes. This is one of the creative charging designs that Volkswagen expects to increase the charging infrastructure over the next several years, according to VW.
See Also: ARE TESLA CYBERTRUCK BULLETPROOF?
Its mission is to completely autonomously charge automobiles is limited parking places such as subterranean car parks. VW's objective is to decrease the range anxiety that is presently preventing the more widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
Volkswagen has just teased a charging robot inspired by R2D2, and it's giving us all the Star Wars vibes. This is one of the creative charging designs that Volkswagen expects to increase the charging infrastructure over the next several years, according to VW.
Its mission is to completely autonomously charge automobiles is limited parking places such as subterranean car parks. VW's objective is to decrease the range anxiety that is presently preventing the more widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
In the video below, you can see how the ChargeBot will perform its solemn duties of giving juice to the masses. The animation shows a driver pulling into a spot in a garage and using an app to tell the charging robot that their vehicle needs some juice.
See Also: CYBERTRUCK VS. MODEL Y
The ChargeBot then grabs what VW is calling a “mobile energy storage” unit, which is essentially a battery on wheels, tows it over to the vehicle, and plugs it in to begin charging.
However, it is unclear if the ChargeBot will then return to base and wait for another request, or whether it will remain in the vicinity of the automobile until it has finished charging.
It's also worth noting that all of this is accomplished without the need for human touch, which bodes well in this new world of social alienation. This prototype is similar to Tesla's 2015 hyped autonomous snake-like charging arm connection robot.
The video below shows how ChargeBot will carry out its important duty of providing juice to the public. The animation depicts a driver parking into a garage slot and using an app to notify the charging robot that their vehicle requires some power.
The ChargeBot then tows a "mobile energy storage" unit, which is effectively a battery on wheels, over to the car and plugs it in to begin charging.
These sorts of devices might allow parking garages to set up charging infrastructure more inexpensively without having to deploy charging stations at individual parking slots, wasting valuable parking real-estate. The roaming charges, on the other hand, may be kept in a single area and deployed as needed.
There is no news on when ChargeBot will be available for purchase. However, Volkswagen noted in a news statement accompanying this teaser, "The mobile charging robot has successfully reached the prototype stage and will now be substantially further developed." ...whatever it implies, we're interested to watch how EV charging evolves.
