ITHACA “AutomatIon of THe electricAl vehicle ChArging”
Developed under the 3rd Open Call of the H2020 Project SMART4ALL
Lead Partner: INFOCOM LTD – Ukraine, Partner1: CTAG – Spain, Partner2: IKEM AD – Bulgaria, Start date: 01/04/2023; Duration: 9 months. Virtech was involved in the project as member of the Electrical Vehicle Industrial Cluster (EVIC). ITHACA aims to automate the charging process of electric vehicles through robotization, being focused on making this process safer and more efficient for vulnerable groups. Some prototypes exist nowadays, but a series of disadvantages are found: Low energy computing is not usually in the focus of these prototypes, most of the solutions are still in a prototype stage.
In ITHACA, a new solution based on the usage of a collaborative robot is proposed, using machine vision capabilities to detect the charging point, and using an ad-hoc gripper. The solution would be initially tested in pre-industrial facilities, and finally in a close-to-real scenario.
ITHACA is especially focused on vulnerable groups and also searching safety of the driver in certain situations, and efficiency in the process. Since the implementation of EVs and chargers will continue to exponentially increase in the next years, these kinds of functionalities are vital to give support to such sensitive social groups.