3D Vision Guided Robotic Charging Station for Electric and Plug-in\n Hybrid Vehicles

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are rapidly\ngaining popularity on our roads. Besides a comparatively high purchasing price,\nthe main two problems limiting their use are the short driving range and\ninconvenient charging process. In this paper we address the following by\npresenting an automatic robot-based charging station with 3D vision guidance\nfor plugging and unplugging the charger. First of all, the whole system concept\nconsisting of a 3D vision system, an UR10 robot and a charging station is\npresented. Then we show the shape-based matching methods used to successfully\nidentify and get the exact pose of the charging port. The same approach is used\nto calibrate the camera-robot system by using just known structure of the\nconnector plug and no additional markers. Finally, a three-step robot motion\nplanning procedure for plug-in is presented and functionality is demonstrated\nin a series of successful experiments.\n