As electric vehicles grow in popularity, so will demand for managing the range and charging of EVs. General Motors is already addressing range anxiety with a new component to the OnStar RemoteLink mobile app, and it plans to tackle the challenges related to public charging with an all-new app.
Meant to be used for public charging, a new prototype app currently known as Park-Tap-Charge will allow EV owners to tap their smartphone against a charging station; doing so will automatically show payment options (including hourly charging rates as well as the estimated time and cost of a full charge) on the smartphone, which the user can accept. Doing this initiates the flow of electricity to the vehicle.
“This type of functionality contributes to an end-to-end solution for owners of the infrastructure and drivers”, said Paul Pebbles, global manager, OnStar Electric Vehicle and Smart Grid Services.
Park-Tap-Charge uses NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to facilitate the communication between the smartphone and the charing station. The communication is initiated by an NFC-enabled phone to a charging station with an embedded NFC tag. Drivers who have previously connected their account to the station can automatically initiate payment by tapping the station.
The app is currently a concept and provides the foundation for a scalable and viable solution for public charging as more EVs appear on the market, such as the 2014 Chevy Spark EV.
Park-Tap-Charge is another GM solution to a real-world problem currently faced by owners of EVs as well as of the infrastructure. In particular, the app promises to solve the issue of public energy/electricity transactions, improving the overall electric vehicle experience. However, for the app to work on any kind of mass scale, most (if not all) smartphones will need to adopt NFC technology — which is not the reality currently.
But for the sake of smartphone longevity, we hope users don’t “tap” the phone to the meter too hard…
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Available on Iphone 6.......
Or iPhone 5s... ;)
Love my Leaf, but no fast charging stations limit our range significantly. Fast charging stations most important 4 success of EV.
I thought the range of affordable EV's need a jump real badly.
I mean I would have no problems with an 8 hour overnight charge, so long as I get damn good range out of it to last 2 days before recharging.
Why not just have all this information embedded in the car? No phone or even tap needed.
@Eco_Turbo Good idea; as far as I know, NFC tech currently works best (more accurately) in the way it's being implemented here (with a "tap" or "touch")... it also doesn't work that well when the distance is increased (such as say to a parking lot with many cars).
The way I see it, most everyone either has or is planning on buying a smartphone these days. And since these devices are often the most "personal" for their owners, they make very good solutions for the kind of problem that public EV charging needs solved.
I hope these charging stations have regular buttons for those who don't have a smartphone or have rjust a pair of tincans and a long string....
who cares how you are able to get your car charged while you are out away from home, weather it be at work or shopping ect! what matters is having a ev car that you can use threw out the day weather you go home or not!
this stuff is really not that hard, most people have to be forced into doing new things but once they do them and find out how easy it is they use it like they have for years