Electric vehicle charging stations app e-charging App
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Client:COYERO, Inc., USA
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Request:Aid in building a feature-rich app for the electric vehicle industry for iOS and Android. Controller functionality development.
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Result:A month-long functionality development process. Lucrative product launch in the U.S. market.
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IOS:
- Alamofire
- Realm
- MQTT
- AWS IoT MQTT
- Swift
- CoreBluetooth
- Stripe
- MVC
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Android:
- Kotlin
- Coroutines
- MQTT
- Realm
- MVVM
- AWS IoT MQTT
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- Bluetooth advertising
Challenge
Our company was not involved in the project from scratch. When we joined, the e-charging app was in the active development stage.
As a part of COYERO's core development team, we were responsible for building a set of new features for the e-charging app for iOS and Android. We were also tasked to develop the necessary functionality for the charging station controller.
About the client
Our team has secured an order from the USA-based company COYERO, Inc. for the e-charging project.
COYERO is a unique platform for building and managing communities, which enables companies to provide dynamic and multi-channel interactions with their customers.
Based on its platform, COYERO, Inc. develops its own mobile products. One of the most large-scale apps on this list is e-charging. The Cogniteq specialists got the company's invitation to collaborate.
Based on its platform, COYERO, Inc. develops its own mobile products. One of the most large-scale apps on this list is e-charging. The Cogniteq specialists got the company's invitation to collaborate.
About the app
The e-charging app is intended for electric vehicle drivers. With the app, users can find the nearest available charging stations and parking lots, monitor vehicle charging status, charging prices, etc.
Solution
Working with the app
Our primary objective was to provide users with the ability to control the EV battery charging process with their mobile devices. Besides, we developed functionality for booking a charging station for a particular time.
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Charging stations mapping.Since the app is aimed at simplifying charging an electric vehicle, our experts have developed functionality, which locates the nearest charging bay and shows whether it is free.
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Work with multiple chargers.The app makes it possible to work with multiple chargers. The Cogniteq team has created functionality, which allows the user to select a charging point, and choose a specific charger.
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Charging status.The app contains a special vehicle's state-of-charge section that allows users to track the real-time charging status of their car or bike and measure energy usage.
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Charger control.Our experts provided users with the ability to control the charging session from the phone, to start and stop charging remotely.
In addition, the app displays the state of charge, cost of charging, electric energy consumption, and session duration.
Working with controller
COYERO contracted us for developing functionality for the charging station controller. To get the task done, the company sent us an emulator for this device.
The controller is a piece of equipment built into the charging station. It is responsible for linking the electric current suppliers to the respective user's mobile device. It is the controller that measures the amount of electric energy consumed and shows the vehicle's state of charge.
The controller is always connected to the charging station and emits a signal that can be picked up by mobile devices. If the signal is strong enough, users get all the information about the chargers.
As experts, the Cogniteq team had to organize transferring data from the controller to the mobile device. It was done by providing support for two protocols in the controller:
・MQTT - if the devices communicate over the Internet.
・Bluetooth connection - if there is no Internet connection.
Providing an offline connection was quite a challenge. The given feature requires implementing the controller's logic via a Bluetooth connection.
So we used Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity technology, which minimizes the energy consumption and saves the phone's battery power. Bluetooth advertising assisted in delivering information from the controller to mobile devices.
The controller is always connected to the charging station and emits a signal that can be picked up by mobile devices. If the signal is strong enough, users get all the information about the chargers.
As experts, the Cogniteq team had to organize transferring data from the controller to the mobile device. It was done by providing support for two protocols in the controller:
・MQTT - if the devices communicate over the Internet.
・Bluetooth connection - if there is no Internet connection.
Providing an offline connection was quite a challenge. The given feature requires implementing the controller's logic via a Bluetooth connection.
So we used Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity technology, which minimizes the energy consumption and saves the phone's battery power. Bluetooth advertising assisted in delivering information from the controller to mobile devices.
Result
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It took the Cogniteq team only 1 month to develop all the required functionality. -
COYERO, Inc. successfully brought to the USA market a high-demand product for the electric vehicle industry, which a large number of users find desirable and wish to exploit.