Kia and HMG Develop Automatic BEV Charging RobotKia and HMG Develop Automatic BEV Charging Robot – Miami Lakes Automall Kia

The Kia Corporation, along with its parent automotive group, the Hyundai Motor Group, have been very active in making the automotive world a little more futuristic than we once thought possible. No, seriously, Kia and HMG partnered with New Horizons Studios to produce Transformers, like “Autobots Rollout”, except not actual sentient robots. The futuristic stuff doesn’t stop there. Kia launched its new E-FOREST Factory for Purpose-built Vehicle production to create vehicles that do more than transport consumers, like a hospital on wheels. HMG announced its Smart City Concept in August 2022, as well as the new joint venture for Lunar Exploration via the metaverse . It uses virtual reality and robotics, and the automotive group has been becoming increasingly involved with robotics in recent years – so much so, that its newest invention is an automatic charging robot for battery-electric vehicles.

There is a lot going on there, but in the video, we see how the robot communicates with the BEV to charge it up. A consumer parks there BEV at the charging station, but also needs to walk into the gas station store. Instead of parking and taking up space at one of the pumps, they park the car out of the way, and with Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA), the vehicle backs up to the Automatic Charging Robot. Using a 3D camera-based artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, the robot is able to recognize the charging port and line itself up to plug into the port. Oh, and the consumer can open the port up with wirelessly.

With a visual indicator, the robot shows how much of the charging has been completed with bar of LED lights that change from orange to green, with green being 100-percent. Once charging is completed, the robot detaches from the port and unplugs itself, returning to a stationary position. The consumer gets a notification, can again close the port cover wirelessly, and be on their way. For extra safety, the robot will beep if it detects an anomaly, like a passerby who could trip over the cord or robot. So far, we only see this installed at a BEV charging station, but one day, maybe we’ll see it as an installation for people’s homes, like the Level 2 charger for faster recharging of a BEV versus waiting overnight.

We should get a closer look at how it all works during the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show from March 31 to April 9, 2023, where Hyundai will be setting up an exhibit. AS mentioned, HMG and Kia have been involved in a lot of work with robotics. Working with Boston Dynamics and their robot dog named ‘SPOT’ for exploring outer space, HMG recently HMG launched the Boston Dynamics AI Institute to educate more students about artificial intelligence to create future generations of advanced robots and intelligent machines that are smarter, more agile, perceptive, and safer than what is already on the market. During the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show, Kia and HMG previewed robotic driving software like “RoboRide”, a pilot service that uses Level 4 autonomous vehicle tech, and the debut of RoboShuttle, an autonomous driving mobility service for groups of people. Can you imagine a world of AI where autonomous driving is common place? Kia and HMG are working on it, and we’re looking forward to what’s next. You can follow along with us when you follow Miami Lakes Automall social media .

Photo Source/Copyright: Kia Media