Sensors 2013, 13(2), 2645-2663; https://doi.org/10.3390/s130202645
Autonomous Docking Based on Infrared System for Electric Vehicle Charging in Urban Areas
IMARA Team at INRIA Research Center, Domaine de Voluceau-Rocquencourt, BP 105, 78153 Le Chesnay, France
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Received: 11 December 2012 / Revised: 24 January 2013 / Accepted: 5 February 2013 / Published: 21 February 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends towards Automatic Vehicle Control and Perception Systems)
Abstract
Electric vehicles are progressively introduced in urban areas, because of their ability to reduce air pollution, fuel consumption and noise nuisance. Nowadays, some big cities are launching the first electric car-sharing projects to clear traffic jams and enhance urban mobility, as an alternative to the classic public transportation systems. However, there are still some problems to be solved related to energy storage, electric charging and autonomy. In this paper, we present an autonomous docking system for electric vehicles recharging based on an embarked infrared camera performing infrared beacons detection installed in the infrastructure. A visual servoing system coupled with an automatic controller allows the vehicle to dock accurately to the recharging booth in a street parking area. The results show good behavior of the implemented system, which is currently deployed as a real prototype system in the city of Paris. View Full-Text
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Pérez, J.; Nashashibi, F.; Lefaudeux, B.; Resende, P.; Pollard, E. Autonomous Docking Based on Infrared System for Electric Vehicle Charging in Urban Areas. Sensors 2013, 13, 2645-2663.