:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/4CHIATTCDNH7XBPSBUBHIWWU4Q.jpg "UNI researchers create a smart charger: this is how the prototype for electric cars works | VIDEO")
The electric cars They have become the main transportation alternative. However, one of the big problems is the lack of charging stations that can be adapted to any vehicle and electrical source. For this reason, a team of researchers from the National University of Engineering (UNI) has created an option that includes the use of artificial intelligence.
It is the prototype of a fast charger that can use algorithms to determine the needs of the electric vehicle and the electrical network. In other words, it not only seeks to recharge, but it could also be adapted to the infrastructure problems in Peru.
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The team led by Professor Damián Sal y Rosas has been working since 2018 on the implementation of a laboratory and charging station emulator, for which they have received funding from PrCiencia and Concytec. And the result is this prototype.
“We do it, that is, we don’t buy equipment and install it at the university. indicated to Trade.
Students from the same university have participated in the project, and they carry out master’s and doctoral research. And it is that the UNI has been working with groups that include different specialists around electrical recharging and electrochemistry for batteries.
However, the research is at the laboratory level and an industrial-level prototype has not been developed. This is due, according to Professor Sal y Rosas, to the fact that it is an academic project, “with no intention of replacing a company”.
Despite this, his group is willing to delve into smart charging systems and test them in commercial vehicles.
“We have come to validate the operation at the energy level, let’s say, power exchange, but what we want is to validate it at the prototype level, but with a commercial electric vehicle. That’s what we want to get to”indicated.
How does it work?
Specifically, the prototype consists of a plate, which is the system that makes it possible to recharge the electric car. That is to say, it becomes the interior part of a charger or electrical station, which is why it is in the laboratory phase. The detail is that the proposal includes the use of artificial intelligence.
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As Daniel Chávez, a member of the research team, indicates, the control card that performs the work is connected to an energy source that is converted to power the battery cells, which is what is found in all electric vehicles. .
Chavez said. The first model was made in 2020 and the latest version presented this year has perfected its distribution and is more compact.
But if something attracts the attention of the cards, in addition to having current and voltage sensors, and that are connected to the electrical network, it is the presence of a microprocessor that performs all the work autonomously, which they configure.
Sal y Rosas explains that the electric charger is an element that, after all, interacts between the electric vehicle and the network, and has certain sensors. “That implies that inside the electric charger there is a small computer that reads that information. [que le dan los sensores] and from there it controls the recharging process, both current and voltage”accurate.
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That is to say, we are already entering what is known as smart chargers due to its communication work. , he explained about the use of AI, which translates into data optimization algorithms.
What does it consist of? According to the specialist in power electronics and professor at UNI, what is done is to take all possible data and from there make decisions to do a job in the most optimal way possible.
problem and need
At the beginning of this note, we talked about the infrastructure problems in the country, and this has a lot to do with the capacity of the electrical network. Is it stable enough? Do you have the necessary capacity?
This type of problem is the one that is advanced in solving the prototype. According to Sal and Rosas, “When the electric vehicle only requests power from the network, it is actually a problem because the electrical network is a system in which if many vehicles start to connect at a certain time, the system may fail”.
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For this reason, he suggests that it is necessary to control the recharging process in which it is possible to interact with the network. he indicated.
Another feature is that the charger is bidirectional. That is, it not only does the work of receiving power to recharge the battery, but in a power outage situation, it takes power from the battery and delivers it to the house. They also work a recharging system powered by solar panels.
This is how UNI, through the implementation of a laboratory dedicated to research on electromobility and alternative energies, can develop this technology and train professionals at the same time.
Source: Elcomercio
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