What Does Electric Charging Mean for Vehicles?

An important aspect of electric vehicle charging is the communication between a charging station or wallbox and a vehicle. The goal is the controlled transfer of energy between the two parties. This charging process can take place via alternating or direct current. With alternating current, the simplest method is to charge via the common household socket. However, this only provides you with low power. An alternative is a wallbox. While also working with alternating current, a wallbox howewer has much more power. This is similar to an AC charging station. Another option is charging via a DC charging station. It provides even more charging power, as it can charge the battery directly.

Why Is Electric Charging Needed?

Fundamentally, an electric vehicle needs electrical energy to be able to drive. This topic is not only important for those who provide the charging infrastructure – the manufacturers of wallboxes and charging columns – but also for the developers of electric vehicles, in other words, the car manufacturers. These two sides must be able to communicate and share the parameters of the charging process. Electric vehicle charging is becoming an increasingly important topic, in particular with a focus on the energy revolution. That is why charging standards have been developed in the last years. For instance, there is CHAdeMO in Japan and ISO 15118/IEC 62196 in Europe, but the development has not been completed yet. Currently, the standards are not optimally coordinated and there are some gaps in between. For example, only some charging stations can communicate with certain types of vehicles. This is a problem that is currently getting worse rather than better. The number of products entering the market is increasing and the range of solutions is expanding. Diversity and interoperability problems will be increasing as a result, until there is a consolidation and adaptation of the ISO standard. However, it will take some time before this happens, and all charging stations that have been installed so far will not meet such a standard.

How Is Electric Charging Related to Embedded Systems?

Embedded systems are a specific electronics, which are provided with the software that runs exclusively on this hardware. For electric charging, embedded systems are used both at the charging and vehicle sides. These handle the controlling and monitoring of the power section during the charging process as well as the low level and high level communication between the parties.

What Can You Learn About Electric Charging in the Embedded Academy E-Learning?

The focus of the e-learning is on communication in electric vehicle charging. Various charging modes and all communication mechanisms are described, such as low level and high level communication for instance. Low level communication is, roughly speaking, the basic handshake, while high level communication involves the transmission of much more data – including encrypted data. This e-learning explains all the important aspects of the charging station communication and what information is transmitted, such as the maximum charging current, and the amount of energy transmitted for subsequent billing. This e-learning course covers relevant topics for anyone working in the automotive industry, for example on the development of on-board chargers. The Embedded Academy offers a basic course here.