"Robot Charges Electric Cars"... Doosan Robotics and LG Electronics Collaborate on Automated Charging Solution

AI Camera Recognizes Cars... Robot Connects Charger
"Responding to Electric Vehicle Charging Market with Diverse Solutions"

Doosan Robotics has developed an electric vehicle automatic charging solution with LG Electronics and has begun pilot operations.

Doosan Robotics announced on the 16th that it held an opening ceremony for the pilot operation site of the electric vehicle automatic charging solution with LG Electronics at LG Science Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul on the 11th, and has started pilot operations.

The newly developed electric vehicle automatic charging solution is a system that combines Doosan Robotics' collaborative robot with LG Electronics' 100 kW fast electric vehicle charger.

Doosan Robotics announced on the 16th that it has developed an automatic charging solution for electric vehicles in collaboration with LG Electronics and has begun pilot operations. The photo shows a collaborative robot adjusting its position to detach the electric vehicle charger cable after charging is complete. Photo by Doosan Robotics

This solution consists of a kiosk for vehicle recognition and payment, and an automatic charging system. When a driver parks an electric vehicle in the charging zone, a separately installed camera sends vehicle-related information to the system. Then, an AI-based 3D vision camera attached to the collaborative robot identifies the location of the electric vehicle charging port, and the collaborative robot inserts the charging cable into the charging port to start charging. Once charging is complete, the charger is removed from the charging port and payment is processed automatically.

The key to the electric vehicle automatic charging solution using collaborative robots is safety and the precise insertion of the charging cable into the charging port. Generally, fast electric vehicle charging systems have larger and heavier charging cables compared to slow chargers, making them difficult to handle.

Doosan Robotics implemented this solution by equipping the six joints of the collaborative robot with high-performance torque sensors to precisely control external forces and securing industry-leading safety certifications (PLe, Cat4).

Ryu Jeong-hoon, CEO of Doosan Robotics (right), and Jang Ik-hwan, head of LG Electronics BS Business Division, are taking a commemorative photo next to an electric vehicle automatic charging solution using collaborative robots.
[Photo by Doosan Robotics]

After the pilot operation, the two companies plan to improve the completeness of the electric vehicle automatic charging solution by reflecting improvements and also consider developing various automatic charging solutions in the future.

Ryu Jeong-hoon, CEO of Doosan Robotics, said, "The electric vehicle automatic charging solution is a difficult technology to implement as it requires securing the sensitivity, precision, and safety of the collaborative robot," adding, "We will respond to the rapidly growing electric vehicle charging market by enhancing product completeness and diversifying automatic charging solutions."