This Robot Automatically Plugs in a Tesla Charger
Pat Larson built this robot that uses machine learning to plug his Tesla Wall Connector charger into his car.
As with every other fully-electric car, you have to plug in a Tesla to charge up its batteries. There are several types of chargers, including the Tesla Superchargers that you may have seen at service stations in your neighborhood. But if you own a Tesla, it is a good idea to have a charger at home. The standard Tesla Wall Connector works with both 110V and 240V, and can provide up to 11.5 kW of power — enough to add about 34 miles of range per hour to a Tesla Model S. To make the charging process more convenient, Pat Larson built this robot that automatically plugs his Tesla Wall Connector charger into his car.
It isn't difficult to plug a charger into a Tesla and it only takes a few seconds. But it is also easy to forget — particularly if you're used to driving gasoline-powered cars. The last thing you want to do is hop in your car to head to work, only to see that your battery is dead because you forgot to plug the charger in the night before. This robot solves that problem by plugging in the charger for Larson whenever he pulls into his garage. All he has to do is park and walk inside, secure in the knowledge that his robot will make sure that his Tesla is charging.
A Raspberry Pi 4 Model B controls the robot. The process starts when an infrared proximity sensor detects the presence of the car. A TensorFlow machine learning model then looks at the car through a webcam and finds the reflector on the charge port cover. It uses that to position the arm laterally. The Raspberry Pi then uses Tesla's API to pop open the charge port cover. From there, the machine learning model looks for the glowing blue Tesla logo to fine-tune the lateral position of the charger. Once it knows exactly where the charge port is, it swings the charger out and plugs it in. No vertical movement is necessary, since the height of the car is a constant. The robot only needs three motors: a stepper to slide the arm laterally, a linear actuator to swing out the arm, and a servo to pivot the charger handle.
The metal arm and the electronic components are mounted to a sheet of plywood, so it isn't the sleekest build in the world. But it appears to be functional. We wouldn't be surprised if Tesla decided to offer a streamlined robot that performs a similar function.