16 ms·

Tesla unveils new car-charging robo-snake

401 points by daegloe 11y ago

legohead 11y ago
I invested a little into Tesla stock just because I like the company. Its been funny to me that pretty much any news, good or bad, makes the stock fall. New prototype robotic charging arm? stock down ~8%
- drpancake 11y ago
  There was quite a lot of other Tesla-related news today. The company announced that they're struggling to ramp up production for the Model X and, totally unrelated, the Model S got hacked.
  - legohead 11y ago
    Ahh, okay, didn't look into it that much. Thanks ;)
- cecilpl 11y ago
  Well, they also announced earnings after market close yesterday and lowered their forward guidance.
GeorgeOrr 11y ago
That is an interesting video to watch. I immediately imagine a self driving car, on its way to pick me up, swinging by this robot arm to charge up. I wonder if it would be possible for something like this to provide a charge while moving? Like airplanes that can be fueled in the air. I suspect the energy to keep the charger itself moving would make that a pretty inefficient way of doing things, but it's fun to imagine.
- codeulike 11y ago
  The weight of the battery needed to charge a Tesla at anything like a 'fast' rate would be huge ... there's no efficient way of then propelling such a heavy battery along without then needing even more heavy batteries or a big ICE engine. So nope. I think this is meant to complement the (as yet unreleased) Tesla can-park-itself-in-your-garage feature.
  - seiji 11y ago
    The tyranny of the self driving self driving car refueling bot.
  - Amorymeltzer 11y ago
    Or allow you charge-up without really doing anything. Stay inside your car and read at the supercharger station!
    - seanp2k2 11y ago
      Or, cars become a shared resource and you just call up basically a driverless Uber when you need it. That's the future I want to see in e.g. areas where mass-transit is blocked politically (e.g. BART from SF to SJ) or where the population density is such where it doesn't make sense.
      - toomuchtodo 11y ago
        Looks like Elon plans on competing with Uber. http://qz.com/473803/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-on-potential-uber-partnership-hmmm/ http://qz.com/473803/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-on-potential-uber-p...
      - andygates 11y ago
        Imagine your robo-tentacle in drab safety black-and-yellow, have a hundred of them waving in the dark waiting for their JohnnyCabs to come in for a charge between fares...
  - toufka 11y ago
    I bet there could be creative situations where it could work. Imagine a rig that joins to an electric overhead line (like a light rail). The rig could move at the speed limit around the ring-loop of a city's interstate. Cars can pull alongside it to charge. If it had enough arms, and was narrow enough you could charge quite a few cars. If its then charging from the grid it needn't actually be propelling a battery at all. Or in a situation where moving the battery already happens. Maybe where a whole fleet of trucks have purchased into a booster pack scheme. The booster packs fall on and off at various cities along a long route. Kind of like jettisoning a space shuttle's boosters. On either side of the city you have 50 packs charging. Radio that you need more juice and as you hit the city limits a booster latches on, you trail it through the city charging your main pack back up, and drop it off on the other side of the city where it charges and waits for someone going the other way. The truck never stops, it just keeps going and gets 'boosted' by a self-driving battery trailer every time it's within 100 miles of a city.
- slxh 11y ago
  Very cool tech indeed. A battery swap while on the move might be more efficient/faster then a charge on the move. (But it would be nice if the next-gen solar panels installed on a car would be efficient enough to provide enough power for a car drive)
  - mtgx 11y ago
    You mean like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5V0vL3nnHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5V0vL3nnHY And I doubt solar panels would ever be used for charging the whole car in a very significant way, even if they had 80% efficiency.
    - slxh 11y ago
      Somewhat like this but while on the move
      - mtgx 11y ago
        In the future roads would probably contain wireless charging within them with solar panels alongside them.
  - ceequof 11y ago
    (But it would be nice if the next-gen solar panels installed on a car would be efficient enough to provide enough power for a car drive) You only get about 1.5KW of light per square metre, on average. A car has maybe 4-8 square metres of usable solar panel space, so guess you could get 3-6KW of power using superexpensive cutting-edge 3-junction solar panels that manage 50% efficiency. Model S has a 310KW motor. Assume you only run it at 10% of rated power when cruising, and that's 31KW of power draw. More than that, of course, since the motor controller won't be perfectly efficient. No way you can run a consumer vehicle on solar panels built into the body.
    - WalterBright 11y ago
      It can work as a range extender, though, especially if factoring in charging while you stop for a bite to eat, shop, visit the office, etc. In addition, if you're an occasional driver, it can be charged and ready to go if you simply park it in a sunny spot. I'd pay extra for such solar panels in the roof.
- stephenmm 11y ago
  They should have made the charge port in the back center of the car. Then while driving along a charging vehicle with a snake on the front would drive up behind and charge you up! Now that I would pay to see. You could even make it a detachable accessory on all electric cars so any car could give any other car a mid-flight boost. The future is bright and potentially very funny.
antidaily 11y ago
Nope.gif
Dylan16807 11y ago
Very neat tech. Also interesting delivery method for the image in the article... and you can do https://images.washingtonpost.com/?url=https://www.google.com/images/srpr/logo11w.png&op=noop https://images.washingtonpost.com/?url=https://www.google.co...
corysama 11y ago
The gif is sped up. This vid is actual speed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMM0lRfX6YI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMM0lRfX6YI I think it's awesome. But, it obvious that the current implementation will inspire the creeps in lots of people. Sci-fi horror has put an unfortunate bad rap on robotic tentacles and chromed vertebrae.
- netcan 11y ago
  Do you think that without sci-fi horror robotic tentacles and chromed vertebrae would seem more friendly? All my instincts are screaming "evil thing!"
- mortenjorck 11y ago
  It's funny, if that thing were simply anodized, say, a diffuse white with some blue accents, I imagine it would look far less threatening than its current "Terminator" chrome appearance.
  - DanAndersen 11y ago
    Considering Elon Musk's public statements about the risk of advanced AI, perhaps he finds it helpful to cultivate a sense in society that "Terminator-like" AI is starting to happen now.
    - tripzilch 11y ago
      If that were the case, it should have a bright red LED 'eye' somewhere :) It's about just as common as the chromed tentacles, and often co-occurs (2001, Terminator, Matrix, probably more).
- kmfrk 11y ago
  Time to jack in and take on Agent Smith.
- gboudrias 11y ago
  This is incredibly uncanny.
TranquilMarmot 11y ago
Why do they want me to enter my email address to continue reading? I had to delete 3 HTML nodes to get past their "drawbridge"... Here's the gif for anyone who doesn't want to deal with the (totally useless) article: https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/files/2015/08/chargersnake.gif https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/files/2015/0...
- vortico 11y ago
  Adblocks, popup blockers, and my custom filters still aren't able to make news article websites usable, so I just don't even try anymore.
tormeh 11y ago
I've long been disappointed that, even as far as we've come, most robots or moving computer-controlled things have been a box with something going round on it (car, washing machine etc.) or sometimes back and forth along a straight line. This therefore pleases me greatly. (and it totally gives me the creeps)
- wesleyy 11y ago
  it's not without good reason. there's no point in over engineering something when a simpler design can do the trick.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  > This therefore pleases me greatly. There are days when HN really begs itself to turn into (the worse parts of) Reddit... Seriously though, the gif, video and various comments invoke a mix of various weird feelings in me, most of them not positive.
Animats 11y ago
Nice. Robotic fueling has been done before [1][2], but this is much less clunky. This looks like the OC Robotics snake robot.[3] Finally, a use for snake robots, which have been around for 25 years but are not used much. Tesla has a good application for this - the car end is cooperative and standard. The car's parking guidance system can be programmed to recognize visual targets and get itself into the proper position. The mechanism is simple. There are many linear actuators in the base pulling on cables that run through the snake segments and attach to plates at the joints.[4] Cable wear is a common problem, but that can be overcome. Charging robots won't cycle that fast; tens of cycles per hour, not thousands. [1] http://fuelmatics.com/videos-2/video-demonstration/ http://fuelmatics.com/videos-2/video-demonstration/ [2] http://www.robosoft.com/robotic-solutions/transport--logisitics/automatic-refueling/ http://www.robosoft.com/robotic-solutions/transport--logisit... [3] http://www.ocrobotics.com/ http://www.ocrobotics.com/ [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTkmyDO2ubs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTkmyDO2ubs
- justlurkin 11y ago
  In my mind, I'm seeing a simpler solution that may be viable, enter the The "Claw Game" charger: * Attaches to ceiling of structure * Has some sort of sensor to identify charging port, perhaps on the charger end itself * Has some limited range of mobility - 2'x2' with X & Y axis movement * Cord unreels down to the charging port once it is reasonably lined up * Charging cable has Macbook style electromagnet, reaches "charging zone" and activates, inserting itself * Safety checks are done, wattage is pumped into the cottage if all is well I honestly don't know if this is better or worse, it's definitely less cool.
  - Animats 11y ago
    That could probably be made to work today, with the gear used by container cranes to slot containers onto ships, trucks, and railroad cars. It would be more complicated than the snake, because stabilizing a hanging load is hard. Once in a while it would probably scratch the car body. What a lot of people here aren't getting is that snake robots are mechanically simple. They're unusual, but neither complex nor expensive to manufacture.
Negitivefrags 11y ago
Somehow this feels like an overcomplicated / expensive solution given that they control both the car and the charger. How much would it cost to install a robosnake in my garage. Could they put a charging port on the back of the car that you back onto something? Or something on the floor that you drive over? There has to be a cheaper solution. If a Roomba can do it we must be able to. I mean, that wouldn't be backwards compatible with existing teslas but I wouldn't think the installed base would be so high that that is a big issue yet.
- sombremesa 11y ago
  This probably isn't meant to be installed in your home. Additionally I think Tesla's philosophy has been to popularize electric cars first and foremost, regardless of whether it's their own cars, so designing proprietary stuff won't help. Elon Musk in general seems to go for "inspire other people to make shit, even if I personally go down in flames in the end". Of course, that doesn't mean he takes unnecessary risks, he just values doing inspiring/world-changing things more than doing profitable things in the long term. (Also this would probably be great for self-driving electric cars)
  - rebeccaskinner 11y ago
    I think tesla would be very happy for other companies to be making electric cars and using tesla for batteries and other components. Really I think this is the long game, to goad other companies into making electric cars and then to be the control the primary means of powering / recharging them.
    - waterlesscloud 11y ago
      Didn't Tesla open source their patents? I think I read at the time that would allow others to make recharging plugs that adhered to Tesla's standards.
- seiji 11y ago
  Tesla's #1 goal seems to be "show people fun" then "be practical" is a few more numbers down the list of how to promote the brand. (Though, we all agree that "in seconds battery swap" was a scam, right? They just did it to meet regulatory guidelines temporarily by playing an on-stage magic trick.) Tesla is like if Apple showed all their designs as they are developed (then 95% trashed) instead of waiting 3 years to show only magic finished products. that wouldn't be backwards compatible The MO of Tesla so far has been "BACKPORT ALL THE THINGS!" They don't seem to be fans of creating new-model-only features when they can engineer even a complicated solution for all existing models.
uniformlyrandom 11y ago
After watching this GIF, I imagined what it would feel like walking past a charging station with this thing on it. How it slowly turns its 10KV-charged head towards me. "- You definitely do look like a charging socket to me. - I really do not. Look, I am human... - No, you really do. You just need a quick charge..."
- selestify 11y ago
  Just keep your mouth closed and it won't notice there's a socket to plug into. Once you start talking though, it may keep applying greater and greater force in a valiant attempt to insert the charger...
  - ethbro 11y ago
    That's an awfully optimistic anatomical statement when we're talking about robotic snakes. Just saying.
    - beamatronic 11y ago
      I just realized that this is a "dual-use" technology, if you know what I mean.
      - Asparagirl 11y ago
        Probably a coincidence: http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/06/teslas-next-big-supercharging-focus-japan/ http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/06/teslas-next-big-supercha... ...probably.
- roneesh 11y ago
  Hey, free electricity at least.
- trhway 11y ago
  well, it can be used as a home protection device - once home security is armed anything the computer identifies as intruder can be chased and Tasered by this thing.
FrojoS 11y ago
Finally a consumer application for a robotic arm!
shostack 11y ago
Are there any engineering advantages from choosing this design vs. a more traditional arm, or plug that just moves on two rails up or down and then extends out? In theory, there is minimal height distance from where such a charging station would be in relation to the car and the charging port height, even when accounting for different Tesla models. As such, I'm not clear why they went with something that on the surface appears overly complicated unless it was for the "wow" factor.
- tcas 11y ago
  I'm guessing it's because the charging cable is fairly thick, making bending it arbitrarily fairly difficult. This design will make sure that the cable isn't too strained while integrating it as one piece. You can definitely solve the problem using a traditional arm though -- so maybe it's just for the cool factor for now.
- qq66 11y ago
  I assume the purpose is for a driver to just pull into the garage and have the charger hook up automatically, so a two-rail system would probably not be able to deal with the car being parked at a slight angle and not completely perpendicular to the plug.
  - derefr 11y ago
    The dead-simple solution for aligning the car is to make it drive onto alignment rails. Or, given that it can auto-park, just give it an auto-pump-align routine based on that. The true benefit of a "smart pump-side alignment" system, I think, is that it copes with different models of vehicles (e.g. EV SUVs, EV 18-wheelers, etc.), with their charging ports in different places and orientations.
    - qq66 11y ago
      Why make the driver adapt (driving onto rails, etc), when the charger can adapt?
- sgk284 11y ago
rmason 11y ago
As a native Michigander I continue to be amazed at how Tesla is able to out innovate Detroit. After 100+ years of gasoline powered automobiles where is the gas robo snake?
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  https://youtu.be/0bZ2u5UnApA https://youtu.be/0bZ2u5UnApA
  - rmason 11y ago
    Thanks, but note that it wasn't created by a member of the Big 3 ;<(. I cannot wait to be able to order fuel Uber-like on my phone and have it fill the tank. Detroit needs this now as it would practically eliminate car jacking.
    - greggyb 11y ago
      Tesla's charging arm wasn't created by a member of the Big 3....
    - greggyb 11y ago
      Tesla's charging arm wasn't created by a member of the Big 3....
- astazangasta 11y ago
  Are you kidding me? We've had Truckasaurus for decades. I mean how is this not impressive? http://youtu.be/r1KsTWegnOs http://youtu.be/r1KsTWegnOs
- roneesh 11y ago
  The gas robo snake was retired after it caused a massive fire.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Isn't it enough we have a robo-snake that can zap you? Now you want to unleash a fire-breathing robo-snake on the world?
return0 11y ago
Unveils?? This looks way too bad to be anything more than a sloppy prototype.
FrojoS 11y ago
Finally a consumer application for a robotic arm!
tamersalama 11y ago
Why isn't it a bottom/base charging devise? I imaging placing a plug at the bottom of the car (perhaps at the back or front of the battery pack) isn't difficult.
- 27182818284 11y ago
  This is what I think they may secretly be working on for instant charging. Like you stop by a Tesla Super Duper station, and the battery in part or as a whole is just hot swapped with robotics and you're on your way in say 5 minutes
  - gojomo 11y ago
    It's no secret – they've promised and demoed that capability for a while – but the rollout has been slow, and may be primarily motivated by gaming the tax-credits available if the Model S has a 'fast-fueling' option. See for example: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-battery-swap-harris-ranch-20150310-story.html http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-battery...
- Retra 11y ago
  Then you have to bend over and look at the underside of your car to connect it.
achr2 11y ago
Definitely a PR move to compete with the simultaneous hacking story.
- hbhakhra 11y ago
  My thoughts too. I wonder if companies have stockpiled "good pr" stories that they release as needed.
- andygates 11y ago
  ..which is odd, because the hacking stories are suggesting "everybody gets hacked", and Tesla are the only ones with the capability to do an OTA security fix (which they have done).
j1vms 11y ago
Guess they want to get this out in time for: http://backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Texaco_service_station#2015 http://backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Texaco_service_station...
vlunkr 11y ago
Do they really intend to release this, or is it just an experiment? Because there's no way that thing is going to save enough time to be worth the cost.
- damon_c 11y ago
  I don't have a Tesla. But if I did, and I had to remember to get out, walk around to the back and plug it in every time I got home, I would probably want one of these in my garage!
  - chc 11y ago
    Given average driving habits, the range of the Model S and the charging speed of the Model S, the back of my napkin suggests you'd only really need to plug it in once or twice a week. So forgetting occasionally doesn't sound like a huge bummer.
- waterlesscloud 11y ago
  The advantage isn't the time saved, it's that you can erase the need to charge your car from your mind. You just don't need to think about it any more. Also, the flexibility of the thing hints to me that it will be used for charging more than just cars in the future.
- seanflyon 11y ago
  This enables a self driving car to charge. Your car can drop you off and go park.
blackbeard 11y ago
My wife has a phobia of snakes and worms. This isn't going well for my Model X sales pitch to her...
- jedberg 11y ago
  I'm pretty sure your entire pitch is the doors go like this: | | instead of this: - -
  - blackbeard 11y ago
    Yep that's about it! :)
  - lucio 11y ago
    Half the doors go | |, the other half - - It makes the "small parking space enter-exit point moot", I don't get it.
    - blackbeard 11y ago
      This is why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFr5T85F9Zw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFr5T85F9Zw
jewbacca 11y ago
Not strictly on-topic or generally interesting, but for any of us who've read Neal Stephenson's new novel 'Seveneves', this reveal has a thin extra layer of interestingness: In that book, a character who is an obvious analogue for Elon Musk sponsors the development of a variety of asteroid mining robots, including a type that superficially resembles this thing. 'Siwis' are, unlike this real thing, modular, semi-autonomous, self-propelling, and meant for operating in zero-gravity. But still... snake robot sponsored by Elon Musk, out of nowhere.
- mrbill 11y ago
  I got more of a Richard Branson vibe than Musk, from the book.
kubov 11y ago
Looks a bit like a elephant trunk robotic arm[1], really neat I wonder if that's not a little bit over engineered, though. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZF35JUNaDg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZF35JUNaDg
adamzubi700 11y ago
http://googler700.blogspot.com/2015/08/list-of-c-projects.html http://googler700.blogspot.com/2015/08/list-of-c-projects.ht...
daveloyall 11y ago
Tesla cars will be self-driving soon, right? Let's call such cars 'robots'. Isn't there some convention against allowing robots to re-fuel without human intervention? Isn't such a rule in the same class as the rule against giving them the keys to the armory?
- daveloyall 11y ago
  I'm just saying, in a world where self-driving cars go rouge, we're gonna want to deny them access to charging stations, and the charging snakes make it just that much harder.
  - nekopa 11y ago
    I don't know, at least if the evil cars turn bright red we'll be able to spot them easily ;-)
sandworm101 11y ago
Really? Is the need to get out and hook up the hose yourself really what's holding back electric cars? There is certainly a cool factor with this thing, but think about how it will work at a real fuel/charging station. The driver will only ever see it in a mirror. And it looks like the range of motion is very limited, requiring the plug to be within a 30x30cm box. A later model will probably have a greater range of motion but I cannot see that be any less cumbersome. Give me a wire and a plug. But maybe Tesla has done some market research. Maybe their target market is old people for whom getting out of the car is a real struggle. Maybe they fear large electrical cables more than rubber ones filled with gasoline. Or maybe they so distrust attendants that they prefer a mechanical octopus fuel their precious car ... until it misses the mark and does some actual damage to the paint.
- aidenn0 11y ago
  A common argument against EVs I've heard repeated is "Sometimes I forget to plug in my cell-phone, and it dies mid-day. What happens if I forget to plug in my car?" This will address that concern, as silly as it is.
  - sandworm101 11y ago
    So it will seek out and plug in without driver input? I guess that would only work if they are in everyone's garage. Isn't there a smartphone ap that can remind owners if they part at home without connecting?
    - afarrell 11y ago
      So a heavy (perhaps diesel-fueled) truck can pull up by the side of the vehicle and charge it enough to get to the next station?
- stilldavid 11y ago
  It's difficult to know the target space needed for this rev of the device. Also, it's probably less than 30cm vertically - I'm quite sure some engineers at Tesla know the height of the charge port, even given the differences with the air suspension.
erickhill 11y ago
I wouldn’t mind these in Oregon when I fill up for gas (where the gas attendants have to pump your gas for you). Way less awkward as long as I stay in the car.
dewarrn1 11y ago
Interesting idea. Before Shai Agassi's electric car company (Better Place) folded there was talk of a similar motorized arm [0]. I don't know whether that ever got past the discussion stage at BP, and they're out of business in any event. [0] http://archive.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-09/ff_agassi?currentPage=4 http://archive.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-09...
bane 11y ago
This is pretty cool, I kind of wish it pulsed a little, like it was feeding, while it's plugged in and charging.
brianstorms 11y ago
Can you imagine how pets are going to react to this? A real-world use-case involves this in a garage, and you pull into the garage (or tell the car to) and it parks and then this snake starts its dance and finds the chargeport and connects and starts charging... and your dog goes completely ape-shit. And barks and shrieks and jumps and snaps its teeth and gets a nice vise-grip with the snake in its jaws and next thing you know, just like in cartoons, you suddenly see a black silhouette of the dog and inside the silhouette the white skeleton bones of said dog flashing brightly as it electrocutes itself at 80 amps and 240 volts. Tesla 1, Dog 0.
- aembleton 11y ago
  I doubt that any current is being passed through that snake until it has made a connection with the car. Then once it is charging it will be protected with an RCD, so your dog might live.
- brc 11y ago
  Most dogs hate Roombas as well. After a little persistence, it usually settles down to an uneasy status quo.
- CardenB 11y ago
  Well, that escalated quickly
smokinjoe 11y ago
For whatever reason this immediately made me think of NJ's laws requiring an attendant to fill up your gas tank. Does the law apply to electric charging stations currently? If it does, I wonder what this innovation might mean to that law.
curiousjorge 11y ago
this better not awaken anything in me.
cmiller1 11y ago
I think Infiniti's induction charging concept seems much cooler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlYADNqxrPw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlYADNqxrPw
- mikeash 11y ago
  That's OK for overnight charging, if you don't mind paying a little extra for the electricity due to losses. But for fast charging, those losses translate into massive waste heat. A Tesla supercharger, for example, tops out at 120kW of power. If the inductive charger is 90% efficient (which I think is a realistic number) then that's 12kW of heat to dissipate. That's a lot. The car itself has similar losses when charging, and has a hefty cooling system to keep up with it, and it's going into a massive battery. Cooling a small inductive charging pad could get interesting.
thomasrossi 11y ago
I hardly believe it's enough to justify the poor 2015 quarters financials
elwell 11y ago
If your still using a gas fueled vehicle, my startup will do this for you (we use only humans at the moment, however). http://purpledelivery.com http://purpledelivery.com (LA only)
- austinh100 11y ago
  FYI you need to fix that site, it takes me a full 2.5 minutes to finish loading with 150mbit internet in LA.
  - elwell 11y ago
    Nothing showed for that long or the video was loading in the background?
bliti 11y ago
I wonder what fail safes it has to manage someone driving off with the arm attached. Like the terminator hanging from the side of the car swinging around like crazy. Can't wait ro see it in action. I know Shell petroleum worked on a similar system for gasoline cars around the year 2000. It was deemed too risky to use.
- mikeash 11y ago
  The car won't shift out of park if there's anything in the charge port. Edit: regarding the Shell attempt, one great thing about EVs is how safe they are to "refuel." You can literally have a four year old do it. I have.
keerthiko 11y ago
Should have seen this coming. Oct 10, 2014 - https://youtu.be/FZ6lZJWL_Xk?t=9m23s https://youtu.be/FZ6lZJWL_Xk?t=9m23s
stickydink 11y ago
I think a lot of people were waiting for it, Elon basically described this last December! > Btw, we are actually working on a charger that automatically moves out from the wall & connects like a solid metal snake. For realz. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/550297212769402881 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/550297212769402881
whitej125 11y ago
Looks much like to robotics made by Festo. I recall seeing a "elephant trunk" type of arm. Wonder if this is based on anything from these guys. http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/robotic-arm-inspired-by-elephant-trunk.htm http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/robotic-arm-inspired...
- jackjm 11y ago
  Yeah, reminds me Festo too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKJybDb1dz0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKJybDb1dz0
jeromeflipo 11y ago
Why not put that thing into the car? It would take both space and weight (i.e impact range and performance) but then we could install outlets anywhere. The car (fleet) owner would be responsible for everything, including maintenance and replacements. Maybe there's a reason why cables are part of the appliances instead of the outlets? Also, car owners would certainly prefer a snake that works everywhere and not just at home.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- hvis 11y ago
  As a piece of new technology, it might need more frequent replacements than an averate Tesla car part. Also, it would be unfortunate if you can't refuel your car because it has no juice left to power this appendage.
jadell 11y ago
I'm picturing an interview with Elon Musk next week. Interviewer: So what's next for you? Musk: Well, I've been reading a lot about the teledildonics industry, and I think there's some real opportunities for synergy with some of the technologies we've been developing for Tesla. Especially in the Japanese hentai markets...
takee 11y ago
I really don't understand the creep factor that everyone's talking about. To me it just looks like a metallic robotic arm. Am I missing anything?
- GhotiFish 11y ago
  It looks like something from imagination of H. R. Giger.
adamzubi 11y ago
http://googler700.blogspot.com/ http://googler700.blogspot.com/
assaflavie 11y ago
Should be tagged NSFW.
wavesum 11y ago
"they were able to hack into the Model S and hit the brakes" This is bullshit right? They were able to disable the engine, but the onboard logic makes sure that the car comes to a gradual stop.
jawartak 11y ago
Add this to self-driving cars, and you have IVES: Inter-Vehicular Energy Sharing. Cars capable of topping each other up while on the freeway.
iNerdier 11y ago
Having watched a large number of David Attenborough nature documentaries all I can think of is the footage of whales mating when seeing this thing...
Digit-Al 11y ago
Is anyone else thinking of the film Demon Seed?
ksec 11y ago
It should be a Robot, and not Snake like, Which to me is still very unpleasant. Some may think this is cool, but to me this isn't very user friendly. I hope this is just a concept. Because I hate to see it in real world.

401 points by daegloe 11y ago

I invested a little into Tesla stock just because I like the company. Its been funny to me that pretty much any news, good or bad, makes the stock fall. New prototype robotic charging arm? stock down ~8%

drpancake 11y ago
There was quite a lot of other Tesla-related news today. The company announced that they're struggling to ramp up production for the Model X and, totally unrelated, the Model S got hacked.
- legohead 11y ago
  Ahh, okay, didn't look into it that much. Thanks ;)
cecilpl 11y ago
Well, they also announced earnings after market close yesterday and lowered their forward guidance.

GeorgeOrr 11y ago

That is an interesting video to watch. I immediately imagine a self driving car, on its way to pick me up, swinging by this robot arm to charge up. I wonder if it would be possible for something like this to provide a charge while moving? Like airplanes that can be fueled in the air. I suspect the energy to keep the charger itself moving would make that a pretty inefficient way of doing things, but it's fun to imagine.

codeulike 11y ago
The weight of the battery needed to charge a Tesla at anything like a 'fast' rate would be huge ... there's no efficient way of then propelling such a heavy battery along without then needing even more heavy batteries or a big ICE engine. So nope. I think this is meant to complement the (as yet unreleased) Tesla can-park-itself-in-your-garage feature.
- seiji 11y ago
  The tyranny of the self driving self driving car refueling bot.
- Amorymeltzer 11y ago
  Or allow you charge-up without really doing anything. Stay inside your car and read at the supercharger station!
  - seanp2k2 11y ago
    Or, cars become a shared resource and you just call up basically a driverless Uber when you need it. That's the future I want to see in e.g. areas where mass-transit is blocked politically (e.g. BART from SF to SJ) or where the population density is such where it doesn't make sense.
    - toomuchtodo 11y ago
      Looks like Elon plans on competing with Uber. http://qz.com/473803/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-on-potential-uber-partnership-hmmm/ http://qz.com/473803/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-on-potential-uber-p...
    - andygates 11y ago
      Imagine your robo-tentacle in drab safety black-and-yellow, have a hundred of them waving in the dark waiting for their JohnnyCabs to come in for a charge between fares...
- toufka 11y ago
  I bet there could be creative situations where it could work. Imagine a rig that joins to an electric overhead line (like a light rail). The rig could move at the speed limit around the ring-loop of a city's interstate. Cars can pull alongside it to charge. If it had enough arms, and was narrow enough you could charge quite a few cars. If its then charging from the grid it needn't actually be propelling a battery at all. Or in a situation where moving the battery already happens. Maybe where a whole fleet of trucks have purchased into a booster pack scheme. The booster packs fall on and off at various cities along a long route. Kind of like jettisoning a space shuttle's boosters. On either side of the city you have 50 packs charging. Radio that you need more juice and as you hit the city limits a booster latches on, you trail it through the city charging your main pack back up, and drop it off on the other side of the city where it charges and waits for someone going the other way. The truck never stops, it just keeps going and gets 'boosted' by a self-driving battery trailer every time it's within 100 miles of a city.
slxh 11y ago
Very cool tech indeed. A battery swap while on the move might be more efficient/faster then a charge on the move. (But it would be nice if the next-gen solar panels installed on a car would be efficient enough to provide enough power for a car drive)
- mtgx 11y ago
  You mean like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5V0vL3nnHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5V0vL3nnHY And I doubt solar panels would ever be used for charging the whole car in a very significant way, even if they had 80% efficiency.
  - slxh 11y ago
    Somewhat like this but while on the move
    - mtgx 11y ago
      In the future roads would probably contain wireless charging within them with solar panels alongside them.
- ceequof 11y ago
  (But it would be nice if the next-gen solar panels installed on a car would be efficient enough to provide enough power for a car drive) You only get about 1.5KW of light per square metre, on average. A car has maybe 4-8 square metres of usable solar panel space, so guess you could get 3-6KW of power using superexpensive cutting-edge 3-junction solar panels that manage 50% efficiency. Model S has a 310KW motor. Assume you only run it at 10% of rated power when cruising, and that's 31KW of power draw. More than that, of course, since the motor controller won't be perfectly efficient. No way you can run a consumer vehicle on solar panels built into the body.
  - WalterBright 11y ago
    It can work as a range extender, though, especially if factoring in charging while you stop for a bite to eat, shop, visit the office, etc. In addition, if you're an occasional driver, it can be charged and ready to go if you simply park it in a sunny spot. I'd pay extra for such solar panels in the roof.
stephenmm 11y ago
They should have made the charge port in the back center of the car. Then while driving along a charging vehicle with a snake on the front would drive up behind and charge you up! Now that I would pay to see. You could even make it a detachable accessory on all electric cars so any car could give any other car a mid-flight boost. The future is bright and potentially very funny.

antidaily 11y ago

Nope.gif

Dylan16807 11y ago

Very neat tech. Also interesting delivery method for the image in the article... and you can do https://images.washingtonpost.com/?url=https://www.google.com/images/srpr/logo11w.png&op=noop https://images.washingtonpost.com/?url=https://www.google.co...

corysama 11y ago

The gif is sped up. This vid is actual speed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMM0lRfX6YI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMM0lRfX6YI I think it's awesome. But, it obvious that the current implementation will inspire the creeps in lots of people. Sci-fi horror has put an unfortunate bad rap on robotic tentacles and chromed vertebrae.

netcan 11y ago
Do you think that without sci-fi horror robotic tentacles and chromed vertebrae would seem more friendly? All my instincts are screaming "evil thing!"
mortenjorck 11y ago
It's funny, if that thing were simply anodized, say, a diffuse white with some blue accents, I imagine it would look far less threatening than its current "Terminator" chrome appearance.
- DanAndersen 11y ago
  Considering Elon Musk's public statements about the risk of advanced AI, perhaps he finds it helpful to cultivate a sense in society that "Terminator-like" AI is starting to happen now.
  - tripzilch 11y ago
    If that were the case, it should have a bright red LED 'eye' somewhere :) It's about just as common as the chromed tentacles, and often co-occurs (2001, Terminator, Matrix, probably more).
kmfrk 11y ago
Time to jack in and take on Agent Smith.
gboudrias 11y ago
This is incredibly uncanny.

TranquilMarmot 11y ago

Why do they want me to enter my email address to continue reading? I had to delete 3 HTML nodes to get past their "drawbridge"... Here's the gif for anyone who doesn't want to deal with the (totally useless) article: https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/files/2015/08/chargersnake.gif https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/files/2015/0...

vortico 11y ago
Adblocks, popup blockers, and my custom filters still aren't able to make news article websites usable, so I just don't even try anymore.

tormeh 11y ago

I've long been disappointed that, even as far as we've come, most robots or moving computer-controlled things have been a box with something going round on it (car, washing machine etc.) or sometimes back and forth along a straight line. This therefore pleases me greatly. (and it totally gives me the creeps)

wesleyy 11y ago
it's not without good reason. there's no point in over engineering something when a simpler design can do the trick.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
> This therefore pleases me greatly. There are days when HN really begs itself to turn into (the worse parts of) Reddit... Seriously though, the gif, video and various comments invoke a mix of various weird feelings in me, most of them not positive.

Animats 11y ago

Nice. Robotic fueling has been done before [1][2], but this is much less clunky. This looks like the OC Robotics snake robot.[3] Finally, a use for snake robots, which have been around for 25 years but are not used much. Tesla has a good application for this - the car end is cooperative and standard. The car's parking guidance system can be programmed to recognize visual targets and get itself into the proper position. The mechanism is simple. There are many linear actuators in the base pulling on cables that run through the snake segments and attach to plates at the joints.[4] Cable wear is a common problem, but that can be overcome. Charging robots won't cycle that fast; tens of cycles per hour, not thousands. [1] http://fuelmatics.com/videos-2/video-demonstration/ http://fuelmatics.com/videos-2/video-demonstration/ [2] http://www.robosoft.com/robotic-solutions/transport--logisitics/automatic-refueling/ http://www.robosoft.com/robotic-solutions/transport--logisit... [3] http://www.ocrobotics.com/ http://www.ocrobotics.com/ [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTkmyDO2ubs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTkmyDO2ubs

justlurkin 11y ago
In my mind, I'm seeing a simpler solution that may be viable, enter the The "Claw Game" charger: * Attaches to ceiling of structure * Has some sort of sensor to identify charging port, perhaps on the charger end itself * Has some limited range of mobility - 2'x2' with X & Y axis movement * Cord unreels down to the charging port once it is reasonably lined up * Charging cable has Macbook style electromagnet, reaches "charging zone" and activates, inserting itself * Safety checks are done, wattage is pumped into the cottage if all is well I honestly don't know if this is better or worse, it's definitely less cool.
- Animats 11y ago
  That could probably be made to work today, with the gear used by container cranes to slot containers onto ships, trucks, and railroad cars. It would be more complicated than the snake, because stabilizing a hanging load is hard. Once in a while it would probably scratch the car body. What a lot of people here aren't getting is that snake robots are mechanically simple. They're unusual, but neither complex nor expensive to manufacture.

Negitivefrags 11y ago

Somehow this feels like an overcomplicated / expensive solution given that they control both the car and the charger. How much would it cost to install a robosnake in my garage. Could they put a charging port on the back of the car that you back onto something? Or something on the floor that you drive over? There has to be a cheaper solution. If a Roomba can do it we must be able to. I mean, that wouldn't be backwards compatible with existing teslas but I wouldn't think the installed base would be so high that that is a big issue yet.

sombremesa 11y ago
This probably isn't meant to be installed in your home. Additionally I think Tesla's philosophy has been to popularize electric cars first and foremost, regardless of whether it's their own cars, so designing proprietary stuff won't help. Elon Musk in general seems to go for "inspire other people to make shit, even if I personally go down in flames in the end". Of course, that doesn't mean he takes unnecessary risks, he just values doing inspiring/world-changing things more than doing profitable things in the long term. (Also this would probably be great for self-driving electric cars)
- rebeccaskinner 11y ago
  I think tesla would be very happy for other companies to be making electric cars and using tesla for batteries and other components. Really I think this is the long game, to goad other companies into making electric cars and then to be the control the primary means of powering / recharging them.
  - waterlesscloud 11y ago
    Didn't Tesla open source their patents? I think I read at the time that would allow others to make recharging plugs that adhered to Tesla's standards.
seiji 11y ago
Tesla's #1 goal seems to be "show people fun" then "be practical" is a few more numbers down the list of how to promote the brand. (Though, we all agree that "in seconds battery swap" was a scam, right? They just did it to meet regulatory guidelines temporarily by playing an on-stage magic trick.) Tesla is like if Apple showed all their designs as they are developed (then 95% trashed) instead of waiting 3 years to show only magic finished products. that wouldn't be backwards compatible The MO of Tesla so far has been "BACKPORT ALL THE THINGS!" They don't seem to be fans of creating new-model-only features when they can engineer even a complicated solution for all existing models.

uniformlyrandom 11y ago

After watching this GIF, I imagined what it would feel like walking past a charging station with this thing on it. How it slowly turns its 10KV-charged head towards me. "- You definitely do look like a charging socket to me. - I really do not. Look, I am human... - No, you really do. You just need a quick charge..."

selestify 11y ago
Just keep your mouth closed and it won't notice there's a socket to plug into. Once you start talking though, it may keep applying greater and greater force in a valiant attempt to insert the charger...
- ethbro 11y ago
  That's an awfully optimistic anatomical statement when we're talking about robotic snakes. Just saying.
  - beamatronic 11y ago
    I just realized that this is a "dual-use" technology, if you know what I mean.
    - Asparagirl 11y ago
      Probably a coincidence: http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/06/teslas-next-big-supercharging-focus-japan/ http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/06/teslas-next-big-supercha... ...probably.
roneesh 11y ago
Hey, free electricity at least.
trhway 11y ago
well, it can be used as a home protection device - once home security is armed anything the computer identifies as intruder can be chased and Tasered by this thing.

FrojoS 11y ago

Finally a consumer application for a robotic arm!

shostack 11y ago

Are there any engineering advantages from choosing this design vs. a more traditional arm, or plug that just moves on two rails up or down and then extends out? In theory, there is minimal height distance from where such a charging station would be in relation to the car and the charging port height, even when accounting for different Tesla models. As such, I'm not clear why they went with something that on the surface appears overly complicated unless it was for the "wow" factor.

tcas 11y ago
I'm guessing it's because the charging cable is fairly thick, making bending it arbitrarily fairly difficult. This design will make sure that the cable isn't too strained while integrating it as one piece. You can definitely solve the problem using a traditional arm though -- so maybe it's just for the cool factor for now.
qq66 11y ago
I assume the purpose is for a driver to just pull into the garage and have the charger hook up automatically, so a two-rail system would probably not be able to deal with the car being parked at a slight angle and not completely perpendicular to the plug.
- derefr 11y ago
  The dead-simple solution for aligning the car is to make it drive onto alignment rails. Or, given that it can auto-park, just give it an auto-pump-align routine based on that. The true benefit of a "smart pump-side alignment" system, I think, is that it copes with different models of vehicles (e.g. EV SUVs, EV 18-wheelers, etc.), with their charging ports in different places and orientations.
  - qq66 11y ago
    Why make the driver adapt (driving onto rails, etc), when the charger can adapt?
sgk284 11y ago

rmason 11y ago

As a native Michigander I continue to be amazed at how Tesla is able to out innovate Detroit. After 100+ years of gasoline powered automobiles where is the gas robo snake?

toomuchtodo 11y ago
https://youtu.be/0bZ2u5UnApA https://youtu.be/0bZ2u5UnApA
- rmason 11y ago
  Thanks, but note that it wasn't created by a member of the Big 3 ;<(. I cannot wait to be able to order fuel Uber-like on my phone and have it fill the tank. Detroit needs this now as it would practically eliminate car jacking.
  - greggyb 11y ago
    Tesla's charging arm wasn't created by a member of the Big 3....
  - greggyb 11y ago
    Tesla's charging arm wasn't created by a member of the Big 3....
astazangasta 11y ago
Are you kidding me? We've had Truckasaurus for decades. I mean how is this not impressive? http://youtu.be/r1KsTWegnOs http://youtu.be/r1KsTWegnOs
roneesh 11y ago
The gas robo snake was retired after it caused a massive fire.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
Isn't it enough we have a robo-snake that can zap you? Now you want to unleash a fire-breathing robo-snake on the world?

return0 11y ago

Unveils?? This looks way too bad to be anything more than a sloppy prototype.

FrojoS 11y ago

Finally a consumer application for a robotic arm!

tamersalama 11y ago

Why isn't it a bottom/base charging devise? I imaging placing a plug at the bottom of the car (perhaps at the back or front of the battery pack) isn't difficult.

27182818284 11y ago
This is what I think they may secretly be working on for instant charging. Like you stop by a Tesla Super Duper station, and the battery in part or as a whole is just hot swapped with robotics and you're on your way in say 5 minutes
- gojomo 11y ago
  It's no secret – they've promised and demoed that capability for a while – but the rollout has been slow, and may be primarily motivated by gaming the tax-credits available if the Model S has a 'fast-fueling' option. See for example: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-battery-swap-harris-ranch-20150310-story.html http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-battery...
Retra 11y ago
Then you have to bend over and look at the underside of your car to connect it.

achr2 11y ago

Definitely a PR move to compete with the simultaneous hacking story.

hbhakhra 11y ago
My thoughts too. I wonder if companies have stockpiled "good pr" stories that they release as needed.
andygates 11y ago
..which is odd, because the hacking stories are suggesting "everybody gets hacked", and Tesla are the only ones with the capability to do an OTA security fix (which they have done).

j1vms 11y ago

Guess they want to get this out in time for: http://backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Texaco_service_station#2015 http://backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Texaco_service_station...

vlunkr 11y ago

Do they really intend to release this, or is it just an experiment? Because there's no way that thing is going to save enough time to be worth the cost.

damon_c 11y ago
I don't have a Tesla. But if I did, and I had to remember to get out, walk around to the back and plug it in every time I got home, I would probably want one of these in my garage!
- chc 11y ago
  Given average driving habits, the range of the Model S and the charging speed of the Model S, the back of my napkin suggests you'd only really need to plug it in once or twice a week. So forgetting occasionally doesn't sound like a huge bummer.
waterlesscloud 11y ago
The advantage isn't the time saved, it's that you can erase the need to charge your car from your mind. You just don't need to think about it any more. Also, the flexibility of the thing hints to me that it will be used for charging more than just cars in the future.
seanflyon 11y ago
This enables a self driving car to charge. Your car can drop you off and go park.

blackbeard 11y ago

My wife has a phobia of snakes and worms. This isn't going well for my Model X sales pitch to her...

jedberg 11y ago
I'm pretty sure your entire pitch is the doors go like this: | | instead of this: - -
- blackbeard 11y ago
  Yep that's about it! :)
- lucio 11y ago
  Half the doors go | |, the other half - - It makes the "small parking space enter-exit point moot", I don't get it.
  - blackbeard 11y ago
    This is why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFr5T85F9Zw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFr5T85F9Zw

jewbacca 11y ago

Not strictly on-topic or generally interesting, but for any of us who've read Neal Stephenson's new novel 'Seveneves', this reveal has a thin extra layer of interestingness: In that book, a character who is an obvious analogue for Elon Musk sponsors the development of a variety of asteroid mining robots, including a type that superficially resembles this thing. 'Siwis' are, unlike this real thing, modular, semi-autonomous, self-propelling, and meant for operating in zero-gravity. But still... snake robot sponsored by Elon Musk, out of nowhere.

mrbill 11y ago
I got more of a Richard Branson vibe than Musk, from the book.

kubov 11y ago

Looks a bit like a elephant trunk robotic arm[1], really neat I wonder if that's not a little bit over engineered, though. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZF35JUNaDg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZF35JUNaDg

adamzubi700 11y ago

http://googler700.blogspot.com/2015/08/list-of-c-projects.html http://googler700.blogspot.com/2015/08/list-of-c-projects.ht...

daveloyall 11y ago

Tesla cars will be self-driving soon, right? Let's call such cars 'robots'. Isn't there some convention against allowing robots to re-fuel without human intervention? Isn't such a rule in the same class as the rule against giving them the keys to the armory?

daveloyall 11y ago
I'm just saying, in a world where self-driving cars go rouge, we're gonna want to deny them access to charging stations, and the charging snakes make it just that much harder.
- nekopa 11y ago
  I don't know, at least if the evil cars turn bright red we'll be able to spot them easily ;-)

sandworm101 11y ago

Really? Is the need to get out and hook up the hose yourself really what's holding back electric cars? There is certainly a cool factor with this thing, but think about how it will work at a real fuel/charging station. The driver will only ever see it in a mirror. And it looks like the range of motion is very limited, requiring the plug to be within a 30x30cm box. A later model will probably have a greater range of motion but I cannot see that be any less cumbersome. Give me a wire and a plug. But maybe Tesla has done some market research. Maybe their target market is old people for whom getting out of the car is a real struggle. Maybe they fear large electrical cables more than rubber ones filled with gasoline. Or maybe they so distrust attendants that they prefer a mechanical octopus fuel their precious car ... until it misses the mark and does some actual damage to the paint.

aidenn0 11y ago
A common argument against EVs I've heard repeated is "Sometimes I forget to plug in my cell-phone, and it dies mid-day. What happens if I forget to plug in my car?" This will address that concern, as silly as it is.
- sandworm101 11y ago
  So it will seek out and plug in without driver input? I guess that would only work if they are in everyone's garage. Isn't there a smartphone ap that can remind owners if they part at home without connecting?
  - afarrell 11y ago
    So a heavy (perhaps diesel-fueled) truck can pull up by the side of the vehicle and charge it enough to get to the next station?
stilldavid 11y ago
It's difficult to know the target space needed for this rev of the device. Also, it's probably less than 30cm vertically - I'm quite sure some engineers at Tesla know the height of the charge port, even given the differences with the air suspension.

erickhill 11y ago

I wouldn’t mind these in Oregon when I fill up for gas (where the gas attendants have to pump your gas for you). Way less awkward as long as I stay in the car.

dewarrn1 11y ago

Interesting idea. Before Shai Agassi's electric car company (Better Place) folded there was talk of a similar motorized arm [0]. I don't know whether that ever got past the discussion stage at BP, and they're out of business in any event. [0] http://archive.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-09/ff_agassi?currentPage=4 http://archive.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-09...

bane 11y ago

This is pretty cool, I kind of wish it pulsed a little, like it was feeding, while it's plugged in and charging.

brianstorms 11y ago

Can you imagine how pets are going to react to this? A real-world use-case involves this in a garage, and you pull into the garage (or tell the car to) and it parks and then this snake starts its dance and finds the chargeport and connects and starts charging... and your dog goes completely ape-shit. And barks and shrieks and jumps and snaps its teeth and gets a nice vise-grip with the snake in its jaws and next thing you know, just like in cartoons, you suddenly see a black silhouette of the dog and inside the silhouette the white skeleton bones of said dog flashing brightly as it electrocutes itself at 80 amps and 240 volts. Tesla 1, Dog 0.

aembleton 11y ago
I doubt that any current is being passed through that snake until it has made a connection with the car. Then once it is charging it will be protected with an RCD, so your dog might live.
brc 11y ago
Most dogs hate Roombas as well. After a little persistence, it usually settles down to an uneasy status quo.
CardenB 11y ago
Well, that escalated quickly

smokinjoe 11y ago

For whatever reason this immediately made me think of NJ's laws requiring an attendant to fill up your gas tank. Does the law apply to electric charging stations currently? If it does, I wonder what this innovation might mean to that law.

curiousjorge 11y ago

this better not awaken anything in me.

cmiller1 11y ago

I think Infiniti's induction charging concept seems much cooler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlYADNqxrPw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlYADNqxrPw

mikeash 11y ago
That's OK for overnight charging, if you don't mind paying a little extra for the electricity due to losses. But for fast charging, those losses translate into massive waste heat. A Tesla supercharger, for example, tops out at 120kW of power. If the inductive charger is 90% efficient (which I think is a realistic number) then that's 12kW of heat to dissipate. That's a lot. The car itself has similar losses when charging, and has a hefty cooling system to keep up with it, and it's going into a massive battery. Cooling a small inductive charging pad could get interesting.

thomasrossi 11y ago

I hardly believe it's enough to justify the poor 2015 quarters financials

elwell 11y ago

If your still using a gas fueled vehicle, my startup will do this for you (we use only humans at the moment, however). http://purpledelivery.com http://purpledelivery.com (LA only)

austinh100 11y ago
FYI you need to fix that site, it takes me a full 2.5 minutes to finish loading with 150mbit internet in LA.
- elwell 11y ago
  Nothing showed for that long or the video was loading in the background?

bliti 11y ago

I wonder what fail safes it has to manage someone driving off with the arm attached. Like the terminator hanging from the side of the car swinging around like crazy. Can't wait ro see it in action. I know Shell petroleum worked on a similar system for gasoline cars around the year 2000. It was deemed too risky to use.

mikeash 11y ago
The car won't shift out of park if there's anything in the charge port. Edit: regarding the Shell attempt, one great thing about EVs is how safe they are to "refuel." You can literally have a four year old do it. I have.

keerthiko 11y ago

Should have seen this coming. Oct 10, 2014 - https://youtu.be/FZ6lZJWL_Xk?t=9m23s https://youtu.be/FZ6lZJWL_Xk?t=9m23s

stickydink 11y ago

I think a lot of people were waiting for it, Elon basically described this last December! > Btw, we are actually working on a charger that automatically moves out from the wall & connects like a solid metal snake. For realz. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/550297212769402881 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/550297212769402881

whitej125 11y ago

Looks much like to robotics made by Festo. I recall seeing a "elephant trunk" type of arm. Wonder if this is based on anything from these guys. http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/robotic-arm-inspired-by-elephant-trunk.htm http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/robotic-arm-inspired...

jackjm 11y ago
Yeah, reminds me Festo too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKJybDb1dz0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKJybDb1dz0

jeromeflipo 11y ago

Why not put that thing into the car? It would take both space and weight (i.e impact range and performance) but then we could install outlets anywhere. The car (fleet) owner would be responsible for everything, including maintenance and replacements. Maybe there's a reason why cables are part of the appliances instead of the outlets? Also, car owners would certainly prefer a snake that works everywhere and not just at home.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
hvis 11y ago
As a piece of new technology, it might need more frequent replacements than an averate Tesla car part. Also, it would be unfortunate if you can't refuel your car because it has no juice left to power this appendage.

jadell 11y ago

I'm picturing an interview with Elon Musk next week. Interviewer: So what's next for you? Musk: Well, I've been reading a lot about the teledildonics industry, and I think there's some real opportunities for synergy with some of the technologies we've been developing for Tesla. Especially in the Japanese hentai markets...

takee 11y ago

I really don't understand the creep factor that everyone's talking about. To me it just looks like a metallic robotic arm. Am I missing anything?

GhotiFish 11y ago
It looks like something from imagination of H. R. Giger.

adamzubi 11y ago

http://googler700.blogspot.com/ http://googler700.blogspot.com/

assaflavie 11y ago

Should be tagged NSFW.

wavesum 11y ago

"they were able to hack into the Model S and hit the brakes" This is bullshit right? They were able to disable the engine, but the onboard logic makes sure that the car comes to a gradual stop.

jawartak 11y ago

Add this to self-driving cars, and you have IVES: Inter-Vehicular Energy Sharing. Cars capable of topping each other up while on the freeway.

iNerdier 11y ago

Having watched a large number of David Attenborough nature documentaries all I can think of is the footage of whales mating when seeing this thing...

Digit-Al 11y ago

Is anyone else thinking of the film Demon Seed?

ksec 11y ago

It should be a Robot, and not Snake like, Which to me is still very unpleasant. Some may think this is cool, but to me this isn't very user friendly. I hope this is just a concept. Because I hate to see it in real world.