Developing Battery Replacement Infrastructure For Electric Cars 369
FathomIT sends in a NY Times profile of Shai Agassi, owner of a company named Better Place, who is working to build the infrastructure to support large numbers of small-scale charging spots for electric cars, as well as fast, automated battery swap stations.
"The robot — a squat platform that moves on four dinner-plate-size white wheels — scuttled back and forth along a 20-foot-long set of metal rails. At one end of the rails, a huge blue battery, the size of a large suitcase, sat suspended in a frame. As we watched, the robot zipped up to the battery, made a nearly inaudible click, and pulled the battery downward. It ferried the battery over to the other end of the rails, dropped it off, picked up a new battery, hissed back over to the frame and, in one deft movement, snapped the new battery in the place of the old one. The total time: 45 seconds."
Why bother? (Score:5, Funny)
Will this work with the Apple iCar? (Score:3, Funny)
In future news, Apple announces the release of their new, sleek iCar! With touch-screen capabilities, smooth acceleration, and lots of eye candy. Better Place, however has been stymied by the fact that the iCar's batter is sealed and hidden inside of the frame of the car, and cannot be swapped out. Millions of iCar fans can only hope to travel 250 miles and struggle to find their lost iCar charging adapters, while Microsoft and PC-maker made Windows-Roadsters take advantage of the Better Place swapping program.
gCar and kCar enthusists, while having the first electric cars out there can be seen at the side of the road, can be seen hand-wiring in their own D-cell battery replacements every 100 feet, soldering gun in hand.
Re:Will this work with the Apple iCar? (Score:4, Funny)
In future news, Apple announces the release of their new, sleek iCar! With touch-screen capabilities, smooth acceleration, and lots of eye candy. Better Place, however has been stymied by the fact that the iCar's batter is sealed and hidden inside of the frame of the car, and cannot be swapped out. Millions of iCar fans can only hope to travel 250 miles and struggle to find their lost iCar charging adapters, while Microsoft and PC-maker made Windows-Roadsters take advantage of the Better Place swapping program.
gCar and kCar enthusists, while having the first electric cars out there can be seen at the side of the road, can be seen hand-wiring in their own D-cell battery replacements every 100 feet, soldering gun in hand.
The only problem with the Better Place swapping program is that you have to hunt all over the place to find them, answer a stupifying amount of questions to gain access and then accept a GRA (Genuine Roadsters Advantage) tracking device/kill switch to make sure that you don't violate the TOS. The gCar and kCar include a Battery Manager that finds the nearest Power Stop for you, guides you there and charges the car for you when you arrive.
Re:Why bother? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why bother? (Score:5, Funny)
iCar? I suppose it will have some sort of circular gizmo to control which direction you want to go.
It may also have a shuffle feature that takes you to random destinations.
Re:Dick "High Crimes and Midemeanors" Chaney (Score:3, Funny)
Given the last two posts, I feel that in order to fit in I should say something about a particular organization for African-Americans of unorthodox sexual orientation. Either that or I could share an anecdotal story about a strange experience in a men's lavatory culminating in very strange items being put into a freezer.
Re:Why bother? (Score:5, Funny)
Or, if Google gets in the act "I'm feeling lucky" (only drives you to certain bars).
Re:Why bother? (Score:2, Funny)