EV charging robot planned

An autonomous EV charger which looks like a very large vacuum cleaner is planned by Chinese EV maker and tech company Aiwys.

About seven patents in Europe and China have been obtained by Aiwys for the robot dubbed ‘Carl’ and its charging method.

No details are available about when Carl is likely to be ready but its services will be called up using a smartphone app.

When an order is received the robot uses GPS to move to the right location and automatically plugs into the EV, taking under 50 minutes to charge the EV to 80%.

Carl is compatible with any recognised charging standard and can charge EVs with 30kWh or 60kWh, Aiwys says.

“Instead of drivers trying to find a charger, the charger will find them,” Aiways overseas operations vice president Alex Klose says.

“We want to make EV ownership as simple, easy and enjoyable as possible, and Carl provides a blueprint for how EVs can be charged in the future.”