• Hyundai shows the robot it developed for charging an electric car.

• This technology can help a person with reduced mobility.

• It is currently unclear whether Hyundai will produce this robot commercially.

Last year, Hyundai announced it was working on developing a robot that could charge an electric vehicle fully autonomously. This week the company shared a video showing the robot in action.

And, no coincidence, the model serving as the guinea pig is the new Ioniq 6 sedan, whose Canadian launch is this week in Vancouver. The video was shot at the company’s main R&D center in South Korea.

The pictures speak for themselves. With intelligent parking assistance, a trick that other Hyundai vehicles already offer, we can autonomously view the parking space at a station. Once in place, the flap concealing the charging port automatically opens and the robot then springs into action. It succeeds thanks to what the company calls a 3D camera-based artificial intelligence algorithm to control the port. When charging is complete, the robot unplugs the car and sends a notification to the driver’s phone.

What do you think of all this? That in the future it will be possible with the autonomous functions of vehicles to send them to the network without our intervention. This type of technology will certainly be used to charge fully autonomous vehicles, which are required for traffic in urban areas. People with restricted mobility will also be able to benefit from such an approach.

In short, it’s about being imaginative to realize how widespread the approach can be and serve different needs. Let’s think of a very cold or torrential rainy day; we can do everything without getting out of the vehicle.

Hyundai Motors – Autonomous Robot

Photo: Hyundai

According to Hyundai, the robot has been tested in various weather conditions to prove that it can be reliable in all circumstances. When we think of a robot thing and our climate, the question automatically arises.

Hyundai has not confirmed production plans for its robot. The company is not the first to present a concept of this kind. Tesla did the same in 2015. Ram also showed something similar when unveiling its concept pickup truck earlier this year at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.

Robotic tasks are more common in Korea than in Germany. For example, at Seoul Airport, you can order a meal from one of the restaurants and a robot will have the job of picking it up and bringing it to you.

Charging robots will emerge; remains to be seen when.

Hyundai Motors robot

Photo: Hyundai