The American carmaker unveiled its upcoming inductive charging robot, named Ram Charger, during the Ram 1500 Revolution concept reveal. Developed by EFI Automotive, Ram Charger navigates to the underside of the vehicle, positions itself under the inductive receiver, and then lifts a disc-shaped inductive pad to make contact with the car's charging pad. The robot then returns to its pole-shaped base.
Ram Trucks claims that the robot achieves an efficiency rate of 97%, which is better than other inductive charging systems that leave an air gap between the charger and receiver. The robot can provide up to 7 kilowatts of power and can be programmed to charge the electric pickup during off-peak hours when the price of electricity is lower. The company aims to start production in 2025.
EFI Automotive states that its inductive charging robot can even improve the vehicle's battery life by 15 percent, but did not offer details as to how it arrived at this number.
Currently, no American-made EVs offer wireless charging capabilities, so if Ram Trucks successfully implements this technology, it could become the first US-based carmaker to offer such a device to a wide audience.
Source: InsideEVs