ITHACA is a solution to automate the charging process of electric vehicles through robotisation, being focused on making this process safer and more efficient for vulnerable groups. Since the implementation of EVs and chargers will continue to exponentially increase in the next years, these kinds of functionalities are vital to give support to such sensitive social groups.

The ITHACA open concept allows its integration with different charging stations brands and different connection standards. The use of a collaborative robot and a machine vision system allows identifying the charging point of the EV in variable positions. The interaction with the user is handled by a mobile App that manage the whole charging process.

To validate the performance, the solution has been evaluated in different ambient conditions. The prototype was initially tested in pre-industrial facilities, and finally in a close-to-real scenario.

Objectives

ITHACA aims to develop a fully automated EV charging system to make this process more comfortable and safer to vulnerable groups, such as elderly or people with low mobility/ physical disabilities, and during severe weather conditions.

Challenges

Different brands and models of charging stations. There is not a standard protocol to access the information of the charging station. Charging connector ubication in vehicle. EV usually have the connectors located on the sides of the vehicle, like their thermal counterparts. However, there are various models that place these connectors on the front or back of the vehicle, leaving them out of reach of the robot. Environmental and lighting conditions. This system will be operational 24 hours a day in outdoor conditions, subjected to environmental and lighting changes.

Technology

In ITHACA, the automatic robotics-based charging of the EV has been implemented several technologies and innovations: Collaborative robotics. IoT TechnologiesMobile applicationsITHACA solution joins all these ingredients to allow a fully autonomous experience.

Market

The main market potential of ITHACA is related with the expected number of EVs in the next years. It is expected more than 16 million units in 2027, growing more than a 17% from 2022 to 2027. As a result, an increasing in the number of charging points is also expected. Currently, the number of public charging stations is not enough to achieve the electrification governmental plans. It is estimated 2.9 million charging points by 2030.There are others evidences that suggest the potential market to build and commercialize a new automatic approach to charge EVs:Increasing of the aging of population with mobility problems.Climate change that could cause severe weather conditions. The increased number of refueling stations without staff.

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