When you think about charging your electric vehicle, you don’t normally envision robots involved. But in its quest to make the charging experience of its new Ram Revolution electric pickup truck as seamless as possible, Ram Trucks has introduced a robot that can charge your EV autonomously.
Ram reveals a charging robot for its electric pickup truck
Ram finally pulled the covers off its Ram Revolution electric pickup truck at CES this year after teasing the concept multiple times.
The EV van comes with some cool features like shadow mode, where the vehicle automatically follows its owner, and a high-tech flexible cockpit that can transform the interior from relaxing to party mode with the push of a button.
Ram revealed another innovative product along with the interior: an inductive autonomous charging robot, also known as the “Ram Charger,” that finds your EV for you, enabling hands-free recharging.
During the CES presentation, Ram CEO Mike Koval said the company knew from its Real Talk tour that its customers are “worried about how long a charge will last on the road, but also how easy it is to charge.”
Koval went on to say that its Ram charging robot will make home charging as easy as possible by intelligently sensing the vehicle’s charging needs and automatically moving into place and lining up underneath to begin charging.
Perhaps most importantly, Koval said the Ram robot’s charger would feature smart charging capability, allowing it to send power during off-peak hours.
The Robo-EV charger, developed by EFI Automotive over the last five years, has a range of 5 to 10 meters, capable of charging various electric vehicles.
EFI says the innovative system improves efficiency by 97% with contact under the vehicle compared to those with air gaps. The robot has world-class communication with the car and includes intelligence to avoid obstacles.
The charging power is planned at 7 kW, but it can be expanded. Depending on usage, you can use a wallbox (home) or a terminal (enterprise/fleet).
Production of the robotic loader is scheduled for 2025, a year after the arrival of the Ram Revolution electric pickup truck.
The taking of electrek
My initial reaction to a robotic EV charger was, “how hard is it to plug in a cable,” but after digging a little deeper, it may have a use case.
For example, fleets or businesses can use smart charging robotic technology to reduce utility costs and ensure their vehicles are fully charged and ready to go.
I don’t see this as an expensive item for the average person, as plugging it into a home charger takes three seconds. Maybe it’s a luxury extra.
The robot charger may find its role in a future filled with fleets of autonomous electric vehicles, and that’s where we’re headed. Fleets like USPS, FedEx, Amazon, UPS, you name it, could potentially benefit from autonomous robots charging their vehicles. Until then, the cable is still the most viable option.
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