Electric Mobility – Continental develops charging robots for electric cars

The bottom unit of the download bot. Photo: Authors Union/Continental

Continental Engineering Services (CES), a development and production services provider at Continental, is working with startup Volterio to develop an automatic charging robot for electric vehicles. The first near-series systems should be available by the middle of this year, with final production planned for 2024 in Germany.

The charging solution consists of two components: a unit on the bottom of the vehicle and one on the garage floor. Once the vehicle is parked, both components automatically communicate via Ultra Broadband – a radio-based communication technology for transmitting data at close range. The loading robot creates a physical dam connection between the ground and the vehicle. Unlike wireless inductive charging via a magnetic field, hardly any energy is lost.

Also, the car does not have to be completely stationary. According to the press release, the charging robot can correct deviations of up to 30cm from the ideal corner position. The angle at which the car is placed relative to the floor unit is not relevant. The charging process is fully automatic. Unlike charging stations, they do not have to worry about anything, i.e. they do not have to deal with charging cables that may be dirty or wet from rain.

In addition, the system is fast and easy to install. The floor unit can simply be placed on the garage floor or installed there. This technology, which can also be modified to fit current vehicle models, is initially intended for private homes with a charging capacity of up to 22 kW. In the second step, a ground-based fast-charging solution is being developed for public spaces, which will be used in car parks, gas stations or in operating areas with a charging capacity of more than 50 kW. . (AWM)

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