AI solution launched to diagnose and fix EV charging stations

ChargePoint is rolling out a new artificial intelligence (AI) solution to speed up diagnosis and repair of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

The AI software can diagnose physical issues with chargers from pictures of the unit submitted by drivers through the ChargePoint app.

The app links the issue to the driver’s location and analyses the images for anomalies.

Once the software identifies the issue, it relays the information to ChargePoint’s Network Operations Centre, which it says can help eliminate the need for most on-site inspections.

The new AI technology will help towards ChargePoint's overall goal for 100% charger uptime.

While uptime is a key measure of charging reliability, the EV charging industry has not yet adopted a standard measurement for uptime, says ChargePoint.

It generally measures station uptime as the portion of time each individual charging port can dispense energy, as a driver pulling in for a charge would expect, not averaged across a bank of charging stations at a single address.

Today, ChargePoint delivers approximately 96% uptime on average across its 243,000-strong public network in North America and Europe, and for ChargePoint Assure customers, ChargePoint provides a 98% annual station uptime guarantee.

Rick Wilmer, ChargePoint chief executive, said: “This technology will enable us to triage and resolve physical issues that cannot be detected via remote monitoring, demonstrating our commitment to innovations which deliver a reliable charging network.”

Drivers who report an issue will be able to track repair status in their app, and their report will automatically generate an alert for that station’s owner, streamlining a repair process which often requires their authorization.

Fleet News recently compared the UK's biggest EV rapid charge point network operators (CPO).

The CPO comparison was part of a wider Electric Vehicle Charging Insight report, which features fleet specific insights on workplace charging, home charging, rapid charging, vehicle-to-grid and more.