The Ford Robot Charging Station, Designed For The Disabled Drivers

Fuelling up a car or charging an EV might be a mundane task for most people, but for the disabled drivers, people with reduced mobility and older citizens, it can be a hassle.

Thus, to overcome this, Ford has developed a prototype robot charging station that drivers can operate via their smartphone from inside their EVs.

The technology could enable disabled drivers to stay in the car while charging, or they could even leave the car while the robot does all the work.

Innovatively, upon activation, the station-cover slides open and the charging arm extends towards the EV’s charging inlet with the help of a tiny camera. 

While the charging is taking place, drivers could also monitor the charge status via the FordPass app, and after the process is done, the arm retracts back into place.

Notably, Ford is testing the robot charging station as part of a research project to develop hands-free charging solutions for EVs and fully automatic charging for autonomous vehicles.

Following initial lab testing, Ford researchers are now putting the robot charging station to the test in real-life situations.

Moving forward, the robot charging station, custom-made by Dortmund University, in Germany, could be installed at disabled parking spaces, in car parks or at home. 

Further applications could include fast and efficient charging of company fleets, and the technology could also support more powerful charging to charge vehicles in a much shorter time.

Ultimately, the entire charging process could become fully automated, with minimal or no driver involvement whatsoever.

I.e., the driver would simply send the vehicle to the charging station, with the infrastructure ensuring it reaches and returns from its destination autonomously.