TU Graz’s robot-controlled rapid charging system for electric vehicles.
FTG / TU Graz
Alongside project partners BMW, Magna Steyr Engineering Graz, Keba and the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) in Vienna, researchers from the Institute of Automotive Technology at TU Graz introduced their wired robotic rapid charging system. The comfort charging system is designed for use with standard charging plugs (CCS) of electric cars.
“For the first time we have found a way to independently recharge several vehicles, one after another, using a robotic charging station, without the need to adapt the vehicles,” explains Bernhard Walzel, researcher at TU Graz. A mechatronic system consisting of sensors, robot kinematics and robot control elements allows the system to recognise the exact position and model of the vehicle and its corresponding charging socket.
Cameras recognise position and type of charging socket
Several cameras recognise the position and type of the charging socket and inform the robot where to plug in the charging cable. With the help of state-of-the-art, liquid-cooled plugs and cables, the aim is to make automatic rapid charging of high power e-vehicles possible. The system was implemented in the Austrian project KoMoT, which aims to provide convenient mobility by means of technology integration.