ZiGGY is a neat new autonomous robot that will find you a parking spot, wait for you, and recharge your electric vehicle battery while you’re shopping, at work, or running errands. No, seriously. Read more
With almost every carmaker now committed to the complete electrification of their entire lineup in the next few years, companies are developing new technology for the surging number of EVs. Soon, gas stations will become relics of a bygone era as charging stations eventually replace them. Pushing the envelope even further are innovative platforms like the ZiGGY. Read more
Our thanks to Takayuki Yamazaki on Twitter for drawing our attention to ZiGGY, a self-driving electric vehicle (EV) charger.
Aside from looking pretty cool, we think this is exactly the kind of innovation needed to tackle the UK’s notoriously slow rollout of EV charging points.
ZiGGY self-driving EV charger
In this recent story from The Express – ‘We’re still not ready’: Lack of electric car chargers leaving UK unequipped for EV future – Helen Robinson, corporate communications director at Euro Car Parts, bemoans the lack of investment.
“In order for the transition from petrol or diesel to electric to be successful, the UK must be able to meet the demand and provide ample charging points for drivers,” she said.
Unfortunately, back in December, The Guardian noted that: “The government has quietly backtracked on proposals to require every shop, office or factory in England to install at least one electric car charger if they have a large car park, prompting criticism by environmental campaigners.
“The original plan required every new and existing non-residential building with parking for 20 cars or more to install a charger. However, the Department for Transport (DfT) has now revealed it will only require chargers be installed in new or refurbished commercial premises amid fears over the cost for businesses.”
The name Ziggy of course brings to mind David Bowie’s fictional alien rockstar, who, according to Wikipedia, “arrives on an Earth that is dying due to a lack of natural resources”.
This ZiGGY, its LA-based maker EV Safe Charge say, represents “A cost-effective EV charging solution unlike any other. ZiGGY is a robotic mobile EV charging platform that serves all parking spaces, not just a few.”
It goes on to assert that 500 million chargers could be required globally by 2040, up from fewer than six million today, representing nearly $1.6 trillion of cumulative investment in EV charging infrastructure.
This nifty robot can be contacted via an app whereby it will secure a parking spot and wait for you.
It will notify you once you’re charged before moving on to the next EV or heading back to base to recharge.
This removes the need for dedicated EV spaces and the addition of video advertising on ZiGGY’s side means there’s a bonus revenue stream as well.
All very clever, but can it play guitar?
This clever robotic EV charger will find a parking spot, reserve it for you, then sit behind you to charge your EV, cheerfully displaying ads all the way as another revenue stream for carpark operators. It’s a nifty idea, but we do wonder how Ziggy will cope with the brutally competitive, openly hostile environment of a crowded mall car park on Christmas Eve.
The Ziggy charging robot is a project by EV Safe Charge, aimed at giving parking garages a super-easy, super-flexible and cost-effective way to add EV charge spots without having to hang chargers next to every park.
Optimizing the work performed by electric car chargers to the maximum seems to have become the goal of manufacturers, who are always looking for a way to make this an efficient and versatile element.
In this sense, the company that develops charging solutions for electric cars EV Safe Charge has recently presented Ziggy, a smart robotic loader designed not only to provide charging for your electric car, but also to find you a parking space and show you ads while carrying out the charging process.
Charging your battery-powered vehicle could get a lot easier if EV Safe Charge has anything to say about it.
The company has just unveiled a new mobile charging robot named Ziggy that can top up your EV while you’re out running errands, according to Electrek. Once you’ve booked a charging session, the rolling battery bank will identify a spot in a parking lot for you, reserve it, then charge your battery while you’re off shopping, seeing a movie or grabbing a bite to eat.
You’ll be able to book and summon Ziggy using either a mobile app or your EV’s infotainment system. EV Safe Charge hasn’t revealed the rate at which the robot will be able to charge, but the company told Eletrek that Level 2 charging (12-80 miles per hour) will be available at launch. The company also said it will eventually be capable of Level 3 charging (3-20 miles per minute). When it’s done charging your battery, Ziggy will return to its home base, where it will recharge itself using either the parking lot’s power grid, battery storage solar energy or a mixture of all three.
Ziggy certainly sounds promising, but there are a couple potential downsides. The first is that the robot will be equipped with two large touch screens. They could be used to display relevant information, but EV Safe Charge’s renders of the device also suggests the device could be used as a rolling billboard. The second, which was first pointed out by New Atlas, is the question as to whether or not the machine can function as planned in a crowded parking lot. If you’ve ever shopped a mall during holidays, you know how crazed drivers can be while fighting for a space. It’s hard to imagine holiday-addled shoppers passing over a space because it was reserved by a robot.
Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to find out if Ziggy works as planned. EV Safe Charge hasn’t announced a firm launch date yet, but plans to put the charging robot into production next year. Sites in San Francisco and Brooklyn have already agreed to give the charging robot a tryout. So, we may soon have our answer.
Ziggy will roll itself into a free parking space to reserve it for you, and once you get there it’ll let you in and sit behind your car to provide EV charging as well as advertising space
This clever robotic EV charger will find a parking spot, reserve it for you, then sit behind you to charge your EV, cheerfully displaying ads all the way as another revenue stream for carpark operators. It’s a nifty idea, but we do wonder how Ziggy will cope with the brutally competitive, openly hostile environment of a crowded mall car park on Christmas Eve. Read more
Charging technology provider EV Safe Charge has unveiled ZiGGY – a mobile robot that can charge an EV wherever it’s parked. Through its ability to recharge itself via different energy sources and its summoning feature, ZiGGY can alleviate the need to install specific parking stalls for EV charging, as any spot can now become a spot to recharge.
EV Safe Charge currently provides end-to-end charging solutions, particularly as it pertains to mobile charging. The company created a mobile rental charging solution for the launch of Jaguar’s I-PACE EV and works with several other OEMs like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, and Stellantis.
Previously, EV Safe Charge has helped find its clients ideal charging solutions based on their needs, recommending charging technology from a multitude of partners including ABB, Enel X, evconnect, and Bosch.
Now, EV Safe Charge has invented its own mobile charging device in the form of a robot named ZiGGY.
EV Safe Charge officially unveiled ZiGGY, the EV charging robot this morning alongside a press release and dedicated product page on its website.
ZiGGY was designed with the help of award-winning industrial design studio, Box Clever, who contributed the design of the robot’s exterior, as well as the UX and brand identity. Caradoc Ehrenhalt, founder & CEO of EV Safe Charge Inc. and ZiGGY’s inventor, spoke to the EV robot’s purpose:
Strong EV sales and emissions reduction goals are creating a more sustainable future, but EV charging infrastructure isn’t keeping up. ZiGGY is a flexible and simple solution for virtually any office, mall or apartment complex to help meet growing charging needs of its tenants and guests without expensive, time-consuming infrastructure and installation investment, if it’s even possible. In many cases, especially in older buildings, adding EV chargers isn’t an option until now.
When it hits the market, the ZiGGY robot will be summoned to your EV using a mobile app or in-vehicle infotainment system. If you summon ahead of time, the robot will arrive at parking space and hold it for you, then plug-in for charging once you’ve safely parked.
Following an EV visit, ZiGGY will be able to return to its home base to recharge from the grid, battery storage, solar energy, or a combination of these sources. The ZiGGY robots can also be implemented for offsite charging if no infrastructure is available.
EV Safe Charge plans to lease ZiGGY robots to customers under a Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS) business model, which will include ongoing technical support and maintenance. Following production, ZiGGY will come equipped with two large screens that can serve as informational kiosks or interactive advertising, offering additional income options for parking facility operators.
While we don’t have the exact charge rates, we were told that the ZiGGY robots will begin by charging at Level 2 speeds. However, a spokesperson for EV Safe Charge told Electrek that the company expects to upgrade ZiGGY to Level 3 charging within its first year of production.
Speaking of which, EV Safe Charge is raising additional capital in a seed round to finance the production and marketing of ZiGGY, which is scheduled to begin in 2023. Sites in San Francisco, and Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood are already onboard. Reservations for the ZiGGY EV charging robot are now open.
With an EV industry in continuous expansion, we also have to deal with a shortage of readily available fixed-charging capacity, which means we have to come up with new ways to meet the increasing EV charging demand. The Ziggy mobile robot aims to do just that, promising to offer a more cost-effective alternative to conventional solutions and overcome the limitations of stationary chargers.
Developed by EV Safe Charge, Ziggy was recently unveiled as the first and only mobile EV charging robot that can generate advertising revenue. Ziggy can be used in parking facilities, shopping and entertainment centers, by fleet operators, property owners, and so on. It boasts of providing cost-effective charging while also generating additional income for the operator. The robot features two extra-large screens that can be used as “informational kiosks” or interactive advertising displays, as explained by EV Safe Charge.
Users can reserve Ziggy in advance and ask for the mobile EV charging robot via a mobile app or through their car’s infotainment system and have it arrive straight to their parking space. The robot will save you the parking space for plug-in charging and knows how to return to its home base to recharge itself using grid, battery, or solar energy. Ziggy features cameras on all four sides, front and tail lighting, a safety sensor band, and all-wheel steering. It can go over speed bumps and up and down ramps.
In addition to offering an EV charging solution that features communication and digital, interactive advertising, Ziggy also brings to the table its flexibility. That means that parking operators will no longer have to block spaces for permanent EV chargers, because the mobile robot can be deployed wherever it is needed.
EV Safe Charge will lease its Ziggy to deliver “Charging as a Service” and will provide ongoing technical support and maintenance. The robot is scheduled to enter production in 2023, but the company is already taking reservations.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/meet-ziggy-the-mobile-robot-that-comes-to-your-parking-space-and-charges-your-car-191178.html
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