The robot evokes the friendliness of R2-D2, but has a lot to overcome
Volkswagen has shown off a new commercial for its cute EV charging robot idea.
The idea is still just a prototype, but the premise is that whenever people go and park places, they can summon this little robot butler to come to their car with a portable battery in tow and to charge their vehicle.
This is likely a smarter implementation than adding a charging plug to every parking spot since it will make it easier to add this robot to existing parking garages without the infrastructure needed for charging.
That said, this little robot doesn’t look capable of moving around in the snow, and it looks very tippy. The Verge also notes that this depends on all vehicles using the same charging port and being connected to a universal connected car network that would allow all cars to call and use this robot. So while VW could easily make this work for its cars, the struggle is making it work for all EVs on the road.
I do like the look of the robot with its simple retro-futurism design looks super cool, and the way it tows around the portable batteries in the companies commercial is hilarious.
This could very well be a way that people charge their cars in the future, but I think most people won’t see anything like this for a long time. Even when we do, it will likely be used to supplement existing charging infrastructure instead of replacing it.
Volkswagen says that the device has moved out of the prototype stage and is now in active development along with many other charging innovations from the automaker.
Source: Volkswagen