photo credit – Ford
July 20, 2022 – The inconvenience of charging an electric car is magnified for disabled or elderly drivers, many of whom are unable to plug in an EV at all. To help remedy this, Ford is starting trials on a new robot charging station that can be operated from inside your car.
The driver pulls up to the specially designated station and initiates the charging process using the FordPass smartphone app. The car’s charge door pops open, and a robot arm emerges from the station and precisely plugs itself into the car using a small camera to position itself.
This new robot tech could provide easier charging of large company fleets, and it could also charge cars more powerfully and in less time than traditional chargers. In the future, Ford envisions the process could be fully automated, with drivers sending the car to the charging station by itself.