Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

Spring 5-1-2026

Abstract

As demand for electric and hybrid vehicles continues to rise, many EV owners rely on home charging in their garages. Gabriel Greer and I’s Senior Design Project, the Electric Charging Arm Mechanism (ECHARM), addresses this by creating a robotic system that autonomously detects a vehicle’s charging port, connects to it, and returns to a rest position when charging is complete. ECHARM is designed as a six-axis robotic arm with wrist and shoulder joints driven by stepper motors through custom cycloidal drive gearboxes. A closed-loop control system using rotary potentiometers ensures precise motion control. At the end of the arm is a stereo camera and a SAE J1772 connector. Using inverse kinematics, the end-effector moves in x, y, z, roll, pitch, and yaw based on visual input to accurately align and plug in. ECHARM integrates mechanical, electrical, and software systems to make at-home EV charging more convenient, efficient, and fully automated.

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