Autonomous driving vehicle for Beijing Olympic Games 2022 charges automatically with Matrix Charging^®

The National New Energy Vehicle Center (NEVC) of China and Easelink equipped an autonomous-driving ride-sharing new energy vehicle with the automated conductive charging technology Matrix Charging^® which was just demonstrated at World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference in Beijing. The vehicle will be in daily operation at Beijing Olympic Games in 2022.

On the 22nd of October, the World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference in Beijing was inaugurated. This is the one of the world’s largest and most renowned conferences in the field of the intelligent vehicles and connectivity organized by Beijing city government, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of PR China, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Transport, and China Association for Science and Technology.

NEVC as a conference exhibitor showcased its developments in the field of intelligent connected vehicles. An autonomous-driving ride-sharing new energy vehicle equipped with the automated conductive charging technology Matrix Charging^® and a new generation of vehicle electronic architecture was presented.
The autonomous vehicle captured interest of serval conference attendees. The laser radars on the roof of the vehicle are capable of sensing real-time data within a 100m radius, the ultrasonic radars around the vehicle body are capable of sensing traffic information within a 5m radius and the millimeter-wave radars are capable of ensuring high data accuracy in special weather conditions such as rain, snow and fog.

It is reported that the autonomous-driving ride-sharing new energy vehicle incorporates some key elements like vehicle intelligence, big data, AI and automated charging, which help realize the combination of autonomous driving technology and mobility service. Users can scan the QR code and enjoy vehicle reservation and shuttle services.

At the underbody of this autonomous-driving ride-sharing new energy vehicle the automated conductive charging solution Matrix Charging® has been installed. The Matrix Charging^®® system consists two components: one component is a rectangular pad installed at the parking areas called Matrix Charging^® Pad. A matrix of circular metal contact pins is laid out on the surface of the pad. The other component is the Matrix Charging^® Connecter. It is an extractable connecter that’s installed at the vehicle underbody.

As soon as the vehicle parks above the pad in the parking space, the connecter lowers itself from the vehicle underbody and establishes a physical connection with the pad. The connecter will then connect to the nearest contact pins on the pad. Afterwards the vehicle is automatically charged via the direct physical connection.

Even though there are hundreds of contact pins on the pad, only the connected pins covered by the connecter are active during charging and the rest of the contact pins are not electrical active, ensuring the safety of human and the vehicle.

This technology has advantages of low cost, no need for maintenance, spacing saving and suitability of outdoor application. The technology can be easily installed at the existing parking areas, insuring frequent charging at the parking areas. This will maximize the connection time between the grid and vehicles, and make sure vehicle batteries are always at a high SOC, therefore effectively reducing users’ range anxiety.

The vehicle is currently test driving at the Yizhuang BinhePark and other regulated roads. The driving is operated by the system alone and no human intervention is needed. The vehicle will also realize one-on-one short distance rides for athletes and staff at the Winter Olympic park within the Olympic Games in 2022.

Easelink is a high-tech company headquartered in Graz, Austria, and dedicated to development of the automated conductive charging solution “Matrix Charging^®” for electric vehicles. The innovative character of Easelink can be seen in its many patents and trademarks. Easelink, with sites in Austria and China, currently has 45 employees and actively contributes to various standardization bodies for charging technology, such as the relevant working groups of the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIn), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Within the framework of cooperative projects, a number of leading automotive manufacturers and suppliers, infrastructure providers and vehicle fleet operators are already making use already of the innovative Matrix Charging^® technology.