Xiaomi May Have Just Invented a Robot Arm for EV Charging

Multiple sites devoted to electric vehicles and charging technology are reporting that Chinese tech company Xiaomi has created a robotic arm for home use that can automatically plug into an electric vehicle for charging.

According to a report from CarNewsChina referenced in many of those stories, the product would be released later this year and would be capable of plugging into and unplugging from a parked EV, and could also support remote charging if, say, someone were traveling but left their EV parked at home. The product would be notable because Tesla worked up a prototype of something similar in 2015, but has yet to deliver on an automated charging product like this.

The CarNewsChina article contains a 1-minute video, also posted to YouTube and social media sites including X, that convincingly demonstrates what the robot arm looks like and how it would function. The video appears to be from Xiaomi, as it contains the company's logo at the end.

Xiaomi has yet to officially confirm the existence of the robotic charging arm, and it's nowhere to be found on the company's website or social media profiles.

CarNewsChina wrote about the product as a Xiaomi "announcement," but there's no apparent evidence online that CNET could find that an announcement was made with a press event, press release or other product reveal that would be typical for rolling out news about a major new EV product category. CarNewsChina did not characterize the video as leaked content.

A representative for Xiaomi did not return multiple requests for comment. CarNewsChina also did not immediately return a request for comment on the source of the news.

A YouTube commenter expressed skepticism, opining that the video was possibly AI-generated: "The Seedance video creator is so powerful now, good job. I cannot see any power cord to power up the charger. Does the energy for charging the car come from the air?" they wrote.

Despite the widespread attention the robot arm is getting, it may be best to treat it with cautious skepticism until the company confirms that the video is real and that it is on track to deliver robot-arm charging in 2026.

Omar Gallaga has covered technology, digital culture and other topics for outlets including CNET, NPR, WIRED, Texas Monthly, MSNBC, Consumer Reports, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic and the Austin American-Statesman, where he was a longtime tech reporter, editor and podcaster. He lives in the Texas Hill Country.

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