BYD's Flash-Charging Robotic Arm Makes Debut in UAE

Recently, BYD's flash-charging robotic arm made its debut in the UAE. The device enables a fully unmanned charging process: after the owner drives the vehicle into the parking space, the robotic arm automatically opens the charging port cover, picks up the connector and plugs it in, charges, unplugs it, and closes the cover. The robotic arm relies on visual recognition combined with force-feedback control technology to locate the charging port and is compatible with multiple local charging connector specifications. The entire station is an integrated solar-storage-charging solution, using photovoltaic panels to harvest energy and storage cabinets to buffer the power supply. The charging power demonstrated on site reached 1,000 kW. Paired with the second-generation Blade Battery, it can achieve 5-minute rapid replenishment and a full charge in 9 minutes. Also unveiled was the one-tap park-and-charge function, which allows the vehicle to autonomously drive into the charging space and connect to the robotic arm for automatic charging. BYD has been developing autonomous charging robots for several years. Its early solutions targeted automatic replenishment for AGV equipment, and later expanded to ordinary passenger vehicle parking lot scenarios. Previously published related patents show that the robot can read vehicle battery level and tire pressure information, identify the charging port and tire valve stems, inflate tires, and be used without any vehicle modification.