Google’s AI Plan to Solve EV Charging Nightmare

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The mess that is EV charging might soon come to an end thanks to Google adding a new feature that will impress electric vehicle owners. The new feature involves using artificial intelligence to sort and look through the thousands of charging stations available in your vicinity and choosing the best one for you. Many people might wonder why there is a need to have artificial intelligence help electric vehicle owners plan a road trip, but it is not that easy in the real sense.

Finding a suitable charging station

Google has acknowledged that it is challenging to find a public charging station with a suitable charging plug and within range for the car to get there. Vehicles with Google’s native android Automotive System as their primary operating system will be the only ones to accommodate this new feature. Currently, The Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40 are the only models with the Android Automotive system; Google says that more are still coming.

To make the right charging stations easily accessible, Google has developed a new algorithm that uses “the graph theory.” The theory will provide the electric vehicle owners with recommendations depending on the range available in their vehicle, their location, and the plug the car requires to charge. Road trips that require two or more charging stops will benefit from this. The feature will show you the most preferred route and show you how much the charging station will charge you, along with an accurate estimated time for arrival. All this is done within just 10 seconds.

Shorter road trips can also find some use for this feature. Artificial intelligence can help you quickly find a fast-charging station and categorise them depending on which one requires membership and which ones don’t. You can also find charging stations located next to stores, coffee shops, or grocery shops so that you do not have to sit in your car while you wait for it to charge.

Types of Charging systems

Charging systems in the US have two types of standards; The Combined Charging System, which was made available first in 2013 and used by BMW, Jaguar, and CHAdeMO, also known as a quick charging method which charges vehicles like Mitsubishi and Nissan.

Tesla offers CHAdeMO adapters but is yet to have CCS adapters as the industry seems to be going for the CCS adapters. However, according to the US government’s Alternative Fuels Data Center’s database, the process is slow; there are more places to charge CHAdeMO than CCS. The new 2021 Model S Plaid+ Tesla model has set a new standard in electric vehicles as it can go for more than 520 miles; this is perfect for those who want to go for a lengthy road trip. For Tesla owners, your car will inform you of the best places to charge along the way; however, if you do not own one, there are thousands of options available to charge your electric vehicle.

Google Maps recently added a feature that searches for public charging stations depending on the plug they have; this all depends on your range and your vehicle’s plug to choose a suitable route. Google map’s new feature to search for your electric car’s plug works perfectly. When searching for where to charge your vehicle, you have the option to specify the plug your car uses in a filter box. Plugs may include Type 2, CCS, Tesla’s proprietary plug type, or CHAdeMO. Such a feature makes work so much easier when finding a suitable charging station for your vehicle.

The maps will recommend charging stations to reduce the trip’s duration. To cater to this, google engineered the perfect solution to recommend efficient routes that pass through charging stations and optimise driving time and charging time altogether.

Issues with Electric Cars

Electrical Charging spots are not as common as gas stations; this makes EV drivers worry all the time about whether they will find a suitable charging station if they leave their area. Will the electric vehicle run out of power before they reach the next charging station? Do I have enough charge to get to my next charging spot?

Such concerns are common and are one of the major hindrances to the use of electric vehicles. Many people shy away from electric cars because of this very reason. The second hindrance is charging an electric vehicle’s battery. Charging an electric vehicle can either take too long or be fast; this depends on the charging station, the battery level, or the vehicle model. The charging time is also non-linear, which means it takes much longer to charge the battery from 90 to 100 than to charge it from 20 to 30.

Their new algorithm will plan for your shorter trips and inform you on the methods of payments accepted at the Charging stations to accommodate European customers, as charging systems in Europe take different payment methods. Payments methods may vary in other countries, but the company plans to expand in the future.

Electric vehicle charging is a bit tricky as companies like Electrify America, ChargePoint, and EVgo vary in plug compatibility and voltage. Some stations are more functional than others. Others have very little or no real-time information on them; hence, it is difficult for electrical vehicle owners to know which charging stations are currently in service and which ones are not. The charging stations are predicted to improve as president Joe Biden has pledged to add 550,000 EV public charging stations all over the US. The charging station setting will require billions of dollars and will be implemented over his office term.

Conclusion

Google’s new feature is sure to change how we look at the maintenance of electric vehicles. Many people might finally decide to adopt EVs due to this latest convenient feature; it addresses the significant issues that drive electric vehicle owners crazy. Google is excited to put their techniques and algorithmic ideas in the Map user’s hands and witness electric vehicle stress-free operation everywhere. The little improvements and modifications will make the adoption and implementation of electric cars much faster, something we all look forward to.

References

Written by The Original PC Doctor on 5/3/2021.

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