Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a system capable of using robots as charging assistants that may be used in future Ford EVs, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on March 3rd, 2023, published on September 5th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0294081.
The Ford Authority Take
The Blue Oval has explored all sorts of ways future Ford EVs may charge in a more efficient manner than they do now, filling patents for ideas such as a hands-free EV charging system, an EV charging pad with wireless charging, and a system designed to influence electrified vehicle charging decisions. Now, this newly published patent keeps that trend going by introducing us to an idea for a system capable of using robots as charging assistants that may be used in future Ford EVs, too.
If this patent comes to fruition, future Ford EVs could simply be driven into a charging station after the proposed system receives a charging request and assigns a charger to that vehicle. The system would then determine the position of the vehicle and move the charger into the correct spot using a robot, after which charging could begin.
What’s particularly interesting about this idea, however, is that it doesn’t show this charging process taking place via a traditional charge port – but rather, wireless charging underneath the vehicle. The charger pad itself would be able to secure the vehicle in place while that process is happening, after which the user could go on about their merry way, fully charged and never having to lift a proverbial (or literal) finger. Given the fact that wireless charging pads are already being beta tested in certain areas, it stands to reason that this type of tech will only become more prevalent in the future – giving this patent a good chance of coming to fruition.
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