System for automated charging of autonomous vehicles

A system for autonomously charging a vehicle at a charging station, the system comprising:

• a vehicle side module associated with a charging port of the vehicle;
• and
• a charging station side module associated with a robotic extension arm of the charging station and comprising electronics for receiving signals from the vehicle side module indicative of a location of the charging port;
• wherein the received signals are used by the charging station side module to generate positioning signals based on the received signals, the positioning signals being used by an autonomous driving system (ADS) implemented by an onboard computer installed in the vehicle to reposition the vehicle within a slot of the charging station;
• wherein the received signals are used by the charging station side module to guide the robotic extension arm to the charging port;
• and
• wherein the received signals comprise at least one of ultra-sonic signals, radio signals, visible light signals and infrared (“IR”) signals.

A charging station comprising:

• a robotic extension arm carrying a charging connector connected to a power source by an extension cord;
• a charging slot for receiving a vehicle having a battery, wherein the charging connector is coupled to a charging port of the vehicle to charge the battery;
• and
• a charging station side module associated with the robotic extension arm for receiving signals from a vehicle side module associated with the charging port, the received signals being used to generate positioning signals to the vehicle based on the received signals, wherein the positioning signals are used by an autonomous driving system (ADS) implemented by an onboard computer installed in the vehicle to reposition the vehicle within a slot of the charging station, and to guide the robotic extension arm to a location of the charging port, the robotic extension arm for exposing the charging port and coupling the charging connector thereto;
• wherein the received signals comprise at least one of ultra-sonic signals, radio signals, visible light signals and infrared (“IR”) signals.