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Can't park at an electric charging station? Volkswagen is working on an autonomous robot to juice your battery


Wouldn't it be convenient if robots could charge your electric vehicle so that you don't have to? 

Volkswagen recently showed the world its dreamed-up future where robots with digital faces roam around parking garages to charge EVs using traveling battery packs. The autonomous robot would find your car, attach a charger to it and then move on to other vehicles while your battery juices up. 

The seemingly random unveil was meant to provide "a glimpse into the future in which the search for charging stations" comes to an end, VW said. The German automaker envisions you summoning the robot via an app.

Once your car battery is fully charged, the yet-to-be-named robot would come to collect the "energy storage device" and take it back to a nearby charging hub.

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“The mobile charging robot will spark a revolution when it comes to charging in different parking facilities," Mark Möller, VW's head of development, said in a statement. “It’s a visionary prototype, which can be made into reality quite quickly, if the general conditions are right."

The idea is to create a flexible storage device, known as a battery wagon, that can carry 25 kWh of battery life. The robot that transports the device would be built with a system of cameras, lasers and sensors to move freely around parking areas.

"The well-known problem of a charging station being blocked by another vehicle will no longer exist with our concept," Möller said. "You simply choose any parking space as usual. You can leave the rest to our electronic helper.”

The company claims to be looking into assembling the charging infrastructure that the concept would require. A release date has not been set. 

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Tesla also envisions a future where drivers don't have to lift a finger to charge their EV.

In 2015, Telsa unveiled a "charger prototype" that's basically a metal snake that bends and stretches before autonomously plugging into your car. The rapid charging robot has yet to publicly materialize.

Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown