Author: Peilin Zhang Company: Phonix Technology Title: G.M. of Engineer Department
AI computing power, AI applications, AI robots, AI quadruped robots, humanoid robots — all of these technologies are becoming extremely popular today.
And I believe this is more than just another technology upgrade.
It could become another major technological revolution that further frees people from repetitive work, frees our hands, improves efficiency, and increases productivity.
Today, we are seeing increasingly flexible and precise autonomous driving technology.
In the past, when we talked about autonomous driving, we mainly thought about vehicles on the road.
But what about the future?
I believe the same trend will gradually move into aviation and the ocean.
We used to talk about reaching for the stars and exploring the vast ocean.
In the future, the AI systems created by human beings will continue to extend our vision, hearing, touch, and ability to act, bringing us into a very different world.
But there is one very practical problem that all of these AI-powered machines will eventually face.
Energy.
More specifically, electrical power.
From Fire to Batteries: Humans Have Always Tried to Store Energy
Energy storage has always been one of the problems that human beings have tried to solve.
Think about it.
From ancient people trying to preserve fire, to scientists later learning how to generate, store and use electrical energy, and then to today’s dry batteries, rechargeable batteries, lithium-ion batteries, LiFePO4 batteries, lead-acid batteries and Ni-MH batteries, we have actually been trying to solve the same basic problem:
How do we store energy and make it available when we need it?
Today, we are seeing another very hot technology: solid-state batteries.
Over the past couple of years, solid-state batteries have received enormous attention from the media and technology industry.
Why?
Because people are looking for batteries with higher energy density, smaller size, lower weight, better safety and longer range.
Personally, I am very optimistic about solid-state batteries.
Of course, there is still a long way to go from laboratory technology to large-scale commercial production.
Scientists and engineers still need to solve problems involving materials, manufacturing processes, cost, cycle life and mass production.
But I believe solid-state batteries will eventually find much broader applications, particularly in electric vehicles, robotics, aviation and other areas where energy density, weight and range are extremely important.
At that point, we may see electric vehicles with much longer driving ranges, electric aircraft capable of much longer flights, and many more autonomous machines powered by electricity.
In some applications, we may even see electric aircraft using solar energy or other auxiliary energy sources to supplement their power while operating.
But no matter whether the future battery is a conventional lithium-ion battery, a LiFePO4 battery, or a solid-state battery, one question will never disappear:
How do we charge it?
AI Robots Are Getting Smarter. But Who Will Keep Them Powered?
Think about a future humanoid robot.
If that robot works eight hours, twelve hours, or even longer every day, it cannot simply behave like a smartphone.
When the battery gets low, it cannot just wait for someone to find a charger and plug it in.
A truly intelligent robot should know how much energy it has left, how long it can continue working, when it should recharge, where it should recharge, how long it needs to charge, and when it can return to work.
Robot vacuum cleaners have already shown us the basic direction.
They do not wait for a person to plug in a charger.
They find the charging station themselves, connect to it, recharge, stop charging when they are full, and then continue working.
In the future, humanoid robots, quadruped robots, inspection robots, autonomous machines and other automated systems may increasingly work in the same way.
So I believe that future robots will need more than a simple battery charger.
They will need an intelligent energy management system.
This is why AI, robotics, batteries and charging technology are becoming increasingly connected.
A Battery Does Not Just Need to Be Charged. It Needs to Be Charged Safely and Efficiently.
So what should a charging system actually do for these future AI-powered machines?
I believe scientific and reasonable charging management will become increasingly important.
Proper charging can help protect the battery and potentially extend its service life.
And the faster the charging speed, the higher the power, and the more complicated the equipment, the more demanding the charging system becomes.
Safe charging, efficient charging, low-temperature charging, short-circuit protection, overheating protection, and protection against abnormal operating conditions will all become increasingly important.
There is one particularly challenging operating condition:
The equipment is working while the battery is charging.
For example, imagine an intelligent inspection robot performing a mission.
It cannot simply stop working because its battery level is getting low.
It may need to continue working while receiving energy from the charging system.
At this point, charging is no longer simply a matter of putting energy into a battery.
The system has to deal with:
the equipment load,
battery charging,
current distribution,
battery temperature,
operating conditions,
and overall power management.
That is why charging while the equipment is operating is fundamentally different from simply charging a battery under normal conditions.
Why Is Charging While a Robot Is Working More Difficult?
We have conducted extensive simulations, experiments and real-world testing in this area.
So far, we have carried out hundreds of thousands of related charging and discharging tests.
From our charging data, we found that when a device is operating while its battery is being charged, the charging curve can be significantly different from the curve observed during charging or discharging alone.
Battery temperature rise, charging current, power distribution and electrochemical behavior can all change under different operating conditions.
This is why we do not believe that you can simply take an ordinary charger and let a robot charge while it is working.
For this problem, we developed dedicated charging control methods.
By coordinating charging voltage, current, power and the operating state of the equipment, we aim to reduce additional heat accumulation and battery stress during simultaneous charging and operation.
Based on our testing, this approach can significantly improve temperature behavior and charging conditions during simultaneous charging and discharging.
For robots, automated equipment and autonomous machines that need to operate for long periods, this is very important.
Because the future question is not simply:
Can the battery be fully charged?
The real questions are:
Can the robot continue working while charging?
Can it do so safely?
Can it operate for long periods?
Can it decide when to recharge?
These will all become part of intelligent energy management.
Why Can’t a Smartphone Charger Simply Charge a Robot?
Some people may ask:
If smartphone fast charging technology is already so advanced, why do robots need dedicated charging systems?
The answer is actually very simple:
A robot is not a smartphone.
The battery capacity, operating mode, load variation and working environment of a smartphone are completely different from those of an industrial robot, inspection robot, quadruped robot, humanoid robot or autonomous machine.
Different devices may use different battery chemistries.
They may also use different numbers of cells connected in series or parallel.
Therefore, they require different charging voltages, charging currents and charging strategies.
That is why our products are not designed like ordinary consumer chargers, where one model can be used for many different devices.
Our products are currently 100% customized.
We provide charging management solutions, charging PCBA, external battery chargers and complete customized charging solutions for our customers.
AI + IoT: Chargers Are Becoming Intelligent, Too
Since 2025, we have invested significant resources in developing AI + IoT intelligent charging systems.
Our direction is quite clear.
Future intelligent robots, smart robotic appliances, aviation automation, autonomous robotic operations and other automated systems will require more intelligent charging management.
This system is not simply about charging a battery.
It can monitor the charging status and provide information about the battery status of the connected equipment.
For example, when the battery level becomes low, the system can determine how much longer the equipment can operate and notify the equipment or the owner.
How much battery is left?
How long can it continue working?
When should it recharge?
For some automated equipment, such as robot vacuum cleaners, the system can even allow the device to find its charging station automatically, begin charging, stop charging when full, and then continue working.
Different applications require different solutions.
So our goal is not simply to make an “AI charger.”
We are developing an:
AI + IoT Smart Charging System.
In other words, an AIOT smart charger and intelligent energy management system.
We have already published several technical articles about AIOT smart charging, remote monitoring and remote energy management, and we will continue developing this direction.
AIOT Smart Battery Charger
AIOT Smart Charger Remote Monitoring
AIOT Smart Charger Remote Energy Management
Charging Power Up to 3000W
Now let me talk about our charging power and some of our applications.
Our customized charging systems can currently reach up to 3000W.
Depending on the battery chemistry, battery configuration, and the number of cells connected in series or parallel, we can provide different charging voltages, charging currents and charging strategies.
Different equipment requires different solutions.
This is one of the biggest differences between customized charging systems and ordinary consumer chargers.
We are also currently promoting a fast charger that can automatically adapt to equipment voltages from 5V to 48V, with AVS automatic voltage adjustment.
There are currently 100W and 240W versions.
One of the characteristics of these products is that they are designed to maintain high output power for a much longer portion of the charging process, rather than reaching maximum power only for a short period of time.
This is quite different from the way conventional smartphone and laptop fast charging systems are typically designed.
Both products have obtained ETL, FCC and CE certifications and are currently being sold in global markets.
One charger can be used for different types of electronic equipment, including small appliances, smartphones and laptops.
I will not go into too much detail about these two products today.
Next time, I will give you a complete introduction to these two products and explain why we believe they are different from conventional fast chargers.
The Future Robot Needs More Than AI. It Needs Its Own Energy System.
So I have always believed that the future AI revolution is not only a revolution in computing power.
AI is giving machines increasingly powerful perception, judgment and decision-making capabilities.
Robots are allowing machines to perform more and more tasks that were previously done by humans.
Autonomous driving is allowing machines to take over more of the driving process.
Drones, autonomous ships and future automated aircraft will extend the range of human activity even further.
But none of these systems can operate for long without reliable energy.
So in the future, the important questions will not only be:
How intelligent is the AI?
We will also need to ask:
How long can it work?
When does it need to recharge?
How should it recharge?
Can it continue working while charging?
Can it find the charging station by itself?
Can it manage its own energy?
I believe these questions will become an essential part of the future of AI and robotics.
In other words, the charger of the future may no longer be simply a power supply that we plug into a machine.
It may become part of the infrastructure of robots, autonomous machines and intelligent equipment.
AI is extending human vision, hearing, touch and physical capabilities. Energy and charging systems will determine how far that capability can ultimately go.
That is all for today’s training session.
I hope this training has given you a deeper understanding of the future direction and trends of charging technology.
We need to think ahead, prepare early, and stay connected with the technologies shaping the future.
Alright, that’s it for today.
See you in the next training session.
