Google uses AI to find charging routes for electric cars, trying to solve the chaos of US standards

Google has announced a new feature for electric car owners that uses artificial intelligence to categorize thousands of public charging stations and help them find the best charging routes, The Verge reported. The need for Google's artificial intelligence to solve this route planning problem shows the chaotic state of electric vehicle charging standards in the United States.

In an article published on Wednesday, Google said that charging routes for electric vehicles are like a puzzle game, and electric car owners must not only find charging stations within the specified range, but also ensure that the charging stations have charging ports compatible with their cars. Google's new feature only works with electric vehicles equipped with Google's Android Automotive operating system.

Currently, only the Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40 Recharge use the Android Automotive system, but Google said that more compatible models are on the way.

Documents released by Google show that it will use a routing algorithm called "graph theory" to provide electric car owners with the best route planning based on their location, remaining mileage, and vehicle plug type.

“When a user requests a charge, Maps searches and filters through thousands of charging stations and finds the best route in less than 10 seconds,” Google wrote. “Users can see the charging time and the updated total trip time, so that the final ETA is displayed accurately.”

Charging stations in the United States generally use one of two standards: the Combined Charging System (CCS) and the fast-charging standard CHAdeMO. Mitsubishi and Nissan electric vehicles use CHAdeMO, while Jaguar and BMW use CCS. Tesla offers CHAdeMO adapters, but the industry seems to be slowly moving toward the CCS standard. The U.S. government's Alternative Fuels Data Center database shows that the CHAdeMO standard is still more widely used than CCS.

The charging standards for electric vehicles in the United States are confusing, with companies such as EVgo, Electrify America, and ChargePoint all offering different charging ports and voltages. Electric vehicle owners generally lack information and have difficulty knowing which charging stations are available.

U.S. President Biden hopes to use the power of the federal government to help improve U.S. charging facilities, and has promised to spend $100 million to add 550,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the United States during his term.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.