Google today announced a new feature for electric vehicle owners that uses artificial intelligence to classify thousands of public charging stations while finding the best route. The level of technology needed to make this type of route planning functional is a pretty clear indication of the unholy mess of charging electric vehicles in America today.
In a blog post published on Wednesday, Google recognizes that route planning in an VE can be like “solving a puzzle” (which is too polite a way to say it), with VE owners needing find the right charging station within range that also has the specific type of outlet your car needs.
The new feature will only work for electric vehicles with Google’s native Android automotive system installed as their primary operating system. At the moment, the only two models with Android Automotive are Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40 Recharge, but Google says more are on the way.
Google is using a recently developed routing algorithm that uses a type of mathematics called “graphics theory” to present load stop recommendations to EV owners based on their location, the amount of autonomy left in their vehicles and the type plug that your vehicles use. Google writes:
Now, when you enter a destination that requires two or more recharge stops, Maps algorithms search and filter dozens to thousands of public charging stations to find the most efficient route – all in less than 10 seconds. You can see how long each charge will take and your total travel time updated, so your final ETA will never be a mystery again.
EV charging stations in the US typically feature one of two types of standards: CCS (Combined Charging System), which was first launched in 2013; and CHAdeMO, a trade name for a fast charging method. Nissan and Mitsubishi use CHAdeMO, while Jaguar and BMW use CCS, for example.
Tesla does not yet offer CCS adapters for its vehicles. It offers CHAdeMO adapters, but the charging industry appears to be moving towards the CCS standard. This has still been slow. The US government’s alternative fuel data center database says there are still more places to load CHAdeMO vehicles quickly than those with CCS.
Google Maps recently added a new feature that lets you search for electric car charging stations based on the type of outlet they offer. But this feature uses more data about its range and plug type to help eliminate some of the assumptions in route planning.
The new algorithmic route planning will also work on shorter journeys and will soon include details on payment methods accepted at individual charging stations for European customers.
EV charging in the USA is a kind of patchwork, with companies like EVgo, Electrify America (which is owned by Volkswagen) and ChargePoint, all offering different voltage levels and plug compatibility. Some stations are more functional than others, and there is a general lack of real-time information for EV owners about which stations are in service and which are not.
President Joe Biden wants to play the role of the federal government in improving the loading infrastructure in the USA. He pledged to spend billions of dollars to add 550,000 EV charging stations in the United States over his tenure.