VOLTA CHARGING, LLC

A method for charging an electric vehicle is performed at an electric vehicle charging station. The method includes determining that, a vehicle is occupying a bay of an electric vehicle charging station. The method further includes, identifying a user associated with the vehicle; allotting a charging parameter threshold for charging the vehicle and determining that the user is located within a predefined geographic area. The method includes, when the user is located within the predefined geographic area, increasing the charging parameter threshold from a first charging parameter threshold value to a second charging parameter threshold value.

Techniques are provided for dividing control of energy flow at multiple Electric Vehicle (EV) stations using the combination of a centralized controller and a plurality of decentralized controllers. The centralized controller is configured to execute algorithms to generate centralized predictions, related to energy usage at stations, for a first period of time, and to generate one or more centralized baseline signals based on the centralized predictions. Each decentralized controller is configured to receive the centralized baseline signal(s), monitor interactions at a subset of stations during the first period of time, and update the centralized baseline signal(s) in real-time based on the interactions to produce locally-updated baseline signal(s). The locally-updated baseline signal(s) are communicated to the subset of stations, and energy flow is controlled at the subset of stations based on the locally-updated baseline signal(s).

A system and method are provided for automatically alerting drivers to potential tread ware problems to enable them to avoid the danger hazards associated with worn treads. A tread-evaluation station is placed at a location where images of tires may be captured. Images of tires are recorded when a vehicle is at or near the tread-evaluation station. An automated analysis is performed on the images. Based on the automated analysis, tires depicted in the captured images are classified into categories of wear. The automated analysis may include a detection component trained to detect tires in images, and a classification model trained to assign a classification to the wear status of the tires identified by the detection component. The tread-evaluation station may further be trained to predict when tires that do not currently need replacing will need replacing.

An electric vehicle charging station having a frame at least partially defining an interior space, a door rotatably coupled to the frame to provide access to the interior space when in an open position and to prevent access to the interior space when in a closed position, and a gutter disposed at least partially within the interior space to divert precipitation away from the electric vehicle charging station.

Techniques are provided for dividing control of energy flow at multiple Electric Vehicle (EV) stations using the combination of a centralized controller and a plurality of decentralized controllers. The centralized controller is configured to perform: executing algorithms to generate centralized predictions for a first period of time, wherein the centralized predictions relate to energy usage at a plurality of stations, and generating one or more centralized baseline signals based on the centralized predictions. Each decentralized controller is configured to perform: receiving the one or more centralized baseline signals, monitoring interactions at a subset of the plurality of stations during the first period of time, and updating the one or more centralized baseline signals in real-time based on the interactions to produce one or more locally-updated baseline signal. The one or more locally-updated baseline signals are communicated to the subset of the plurality of stations, and energy flow is controlled at the subset of the plurality of stations based on the one or more locally-updated baseline signals.

A method for charging an electric vehicle is performed at an electric vehicle charging station. The method includes determining that, a vehicle is occupying a bay of an electric vehicle charging station. The method further includes, identifying a user associated with the vehicle; allotting a charging parameter threshold for charging the vehicle and determining that the user is located within a predefined geographic area. The method includes, when the user is located within the predefined geographic area, increasing the charging parameter threshold from a first charging parameter threshold value to a second charging parameter threshold value.