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Volkswagen preparing mobile EV-charging robots

Volkswagen is developing robots that can find and charge electric vehicles in need of a range boost.


The idea behind the robots is simple: vehicles low on charge can park in a regular multi-storey carpark, and wirelessly communicate with the charging infrastructure.

An autonomous robot will then deliver a small charger to the vehicle, wirelessly open the car's charge port, and connect up the charger.

The robot can then head back to its base, while the car's battery is replenished by the "mobile energy storage device" – or a battery wagon, in Volkswagen speak.

Each 'battery wagon' has around 25kWh of energy storage, and can charge at 50kW.

When charging is complete, the robot – which is constantly in motion, running mobile chargers around its parking garage – comes to collect the mobile charger and return it to base, where it can be recharged and used again.

Volkswagen says the mobile robots are a solution that makes it easier to charge in congested inner-city carparks. The autonomous system also removes the risk of internal-combustion owners parking in front of chargers.

"The mobile charging robot will spark a revolution when it comes to charging in different parking facilities, such as multi-storey car parks, parking spaces and underground car parks because we bring the charging infrastructure to the car and not the other way around,"said Mark Möller, head of development at Volkswagen Group Components.

"With this, we are making almost every car park electric, without any complex individual infrastructural measures."

At the moment, the robots are only in the prototype phase. Volkswagen Group hasn't provided an estimate as to when they could be put into series production.

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