Inspiration
Electric vehicles are becoming more popular, but one problem can occur when the battery level becomes very low: the vehicle may not have enough range to reach a charging station. This can be especially difficult in emergency situations. EV users may also have to wait at charging stations.
This inspired us to explore how solar energy and AI could help EV users get additional energy and make smarter charging decisions.
What it does
EcoCharge AI is a smart solar energy management concept for electric vehicles.
We propose integrating solar panels with EVs to capture solar energy and store the generated energy for additional vehicle range. The solar panel size can be selected according to the vehicle's size and available space. As a concept, we considered solar panels in the range of 100W–500W for different vehicle requirements.
Our mobile app prototype helps users monitor their solar and EV energy through:
- EV battery level and estimated range
- Solar power generation
- Energy generated from solar
- Solar energy added to the vehicle
- Weather and solar conditions
- Solar generation forecast
- AI recommendations for the best charging time
- Smart charging schedule
- AI Energy Assistant
- Charging status and estimated charging information
The AI can recommend suitable charging periods based on solar availability and weather conditions, helping users make better use of available solar energy.
How we built it
We designed a clickable mobile app prototype using Figma.
The prototype contains several connected screens:
- Dashboard – Shows battery level, estimated range, solar power and AI recommendations.
- Solar Forecast – Displays solar generation information and expected solar conditions.
- Charging – Shows charging status, energy added, range gained and smart charging schedule.
- AI Recommendations – Provides suggestions based on solar availability.
- AI Energy Assistant – Allows users to ask questions related to charging, weather and battery usage.
- Profile & Settings – Provides vehicle, charging and application settings.
We connected the screens using Figma's prototype interactions to create a simple user flow that demonstrates how the application could work.
Challenges we ran into
One of our main challenges was combining EV information, solar energy data, weather conditions, charging information and AI recommendations into a simple mobile interface.
Another challenge was creating a clear prototype flow where users can easily move between the dashboard, solar forecast, charging, AI recommendations and AI assistant screens.
We also had to think about how solar panel capacity could vary depending on the size and requirements of different EVs.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of creating a complete clickable prototype that demonstrates our idea from the user's perspective.
Our prototype brings together EV monitoring, solar energy management, smart charging and AI assistance in one application.
We also created an interactive flow that allows users to move between different screens and understand how EcoCharge AI could help reduce dependency on charging stations and make better use of solar energy.
What we learned
Through this project, we learned how to convert a real-world problem into a technology-based solution.
We learned about:
- EV charging challenges
- Solar energy generation
- Smart energy management
- AI-based recommendations
- User interface and user experience design
- Creating interactive prototypes using Figma
- Designing a clear user flow for a mobile application
Most importantly, we learned how to focus on the user's problem rather than simply adding features to an application.
What's next for EcoCharge AI
Our current project is a prototype. In the future, we want to develop it into a working system by connecting the application with real EV and solar-energy data.
Future improvements could include:
- Real-time solar energy monitoring
- Integration with EV battery management systems
- Weather API integration
- AI-based energy prediction
- Automatic smart charging
- Solar panel performance monitoring
- Personalized charging recommendations
- Emergency energy alerts
- Real-world testing with EVs and solar panels
Our long-term goal is to make EV charging smarter, reduce unnecessary waiting at charging stations, and make better use of renewable solar energy.
Built With
- ai
- ai-assistent
- ai-recommendations
- battery-management
- ev
- figma
- mobile-app
- prototype
- smart-energy
- solar-energy
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.