EV Charging Management - Mobile App

7,96,000! This is the number of electric vehicles registered across India in the year 2021. The development in the automotive industry has increased the penetration of electric vehicles and thereby increased the demand for Electric Vehicle infrastructure. There are a few challenges for the EV drivers during their drive- finding an EV charging station. Ever found yourself stressed out at 10% of your vehicle battery?

To reduce the anxiety and ease out finding a charging station we have proposed a mobile application that helps in navigating to the nearest electric vehicle charging station. This article talks about the features of the EV charging infrastructure mobile application.

Challenges

• Finding a compatible charging station:

  The format of the design forbids universal compatibility and makes it more difficult in navigating to the charging stations. DC chargers are mostly found across the large cities; however, Tesla superchargers are for the Tesla vehicles.

• Charging based on speed and battery capacity:

  Varied requirements from the user also vary and finding a station that matches your requirements such as charging rate, battery capacity, and charging time can be a challenge.

• Finding the charging point status:

  Unavailability of the charging points after reaching the charging station could add to your stress.

Objective

To design an app based platform that lets user join and participate in educational courses with hundreds of video content

Process

Developed our product through the following five phases: Research, Synthesize, Ideate, UI Design & Test.

Research

• Competitor Analyses

• User goals

• User pain points

Synthesize

• High level design goals

• Key features & motivations

Ideate

• Card sorting

• Site map

• Task flow

UI Design

• Logo design

• Low-fi sketches

• Style

Test

• Usability testing

• Iteration & implementation

• Hi-fi prototypes

• Final screens

How we made it?

We built a design system consisting of colors, typography, layout, assets, icons and components so that it can be reused throught out the visual design/UI design phase. Using design system also helps to maintain consistency throughout the design. After creating the design system, we began designing the user interface by keeping the digital wireframes as a reference.

Before reaching the station

The user would want to have the details of the charging station, like chargers and connectors they support, availability status, reviews about the station, and distance between the current location and the station. Gaining access to this information enhances the overall experience.The application makes use of the driver’s location and guides to the nearest compatible charging station. Integrating with the geolocation, the application enables the driver to get the driving directions to the station, easier and traffic routes to reach the station.

Charging preferences

Customization of the application is more dynamic, for which the application requires your personal information and preferences to save your personalized profile for a better experience. Maintaining an account in the application aids in better functionality. The application also lets you maintain a list of favorite charging stations.The application lets you charge based on time, battery charge, or amount. If you choose to charge based on the energy demand, you can opt for it. Or you might choose to charge for a particular amount or the time you spend on the charging session. The flexibility feature of the application helps you eliminate the occurrences of charging during peak times which is usually before 10 am or after 4 pm.

Route planner

This feature helps you to plan your route better. The farther the charging station, the more you are in trouble. Finding the best route by avoiding tolls and traffic helps you reach your station before you run out your battery. Toggle switch icons provided next to the ‘Avoid tolls’ and ‘Avoid highways’ helps you take the best route possible and reach your destination quicker without much hassle. This feature also shows an estimate of your battery status and the time you would reach the destination.

Controlling the charging sessions remotely

Controlling your charging sessions from remote areas helps you to optimize your charging session. This feature enables you to stop the charging session remotely, once you are notified that your battery is fully charged. This brings in so many benefits such as maximizing the availability of the charging points, optimizing the charging points, spending less on the charging infrastructure, reducing overall costs, and significant others. Similarly, you can start, rest or stop the session remotely without any assistance.Push notifications are another features that alert you when the battery level reaches 80% and 100% so that you can sit and relax while it’s charging.

Payment options

The application gives access to various payment gateways for the user. The feature aims to enhance your convenience. For instance, e-wallets, UPI, PayPal, debit cards or credit cards, and other payment options can be integrated for an effortless payment. You can also find an estimate before starting the charging session and plan accordingly.